A Journey of Love and Heartache
by Claris o Gaerdydd
Summary: Lynwen; a human raised in Rivendell, unexpectedly finds love in the arms of the Prince of Mirkwood, Legolas, after a passionate romance with her foster brother, Elrohir, comes to an agonising end. But when Elrohir makes it clear that he wants her back, Lynwen will find herself torn between the two elves. But who will she finally end up with? Legolas or Elrohir? (Love Triangle)
1. Finally Home

_Hiya everyone, and welcome to my story! This is my first fanfic, so constructive criticism is very welcome! I'm a huge Legolas fan and have always loved the idea of an OC being romantically torn between him and Elrohir. And being unable to find many stories that have this same idea, I decided to just write one myself. This story is rated M for a reason, as you'll discover in later chapters! And I'll put warnings at the beginning of the chapters that have the adult material in them. So expect lots of romance, adventure, hurt, adult themes, and a few twists and turns along the way. I hope you enjoy the story, and thanks very much for reading!_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing associated with The Lord of the Rings, nor do I make any money from this story._

Chapter One - Finally Home

The sun was setting beyond the horizon, casting deep orange and red colours across the landscape, the surface of the River Bruinen glistening in red fiery shades. The view of The Ford up ahead was a welcoming sight for the approaching party of elves that had set out from Rivendell some twelve years earlier. Seeing the river in all its natural beauty caused them all to draw their horses to a halt and pause on the banks, smiling and feeling content knowing that they were finally home.

The party had been sent out by the Lord Elrond of Rivendell all those years earlier, with the instructions to travel to various realms throughout Middle Earth and gather reports and information about the current lays of those lands, paying particular attention to the lands of men which, due to the mortality of that race, meant that changes in rulers, boundaries and general politics, changed hands frequently. At least it was seen as frequent through the eyes of the immortal elves.

This expedition was considered very important by Lord Elrond, and it was something that he instructed to be carried out every fifty to sixty years. He always thought it was vital to know what was happening throughout the lands of Middle Earth, and that the information gathered from these expeditions could keep him up to date with the current goings-on, and in turn, help him in better protecting Rivendell from any potential new foes.

After the party had drawn their horses to a halt, the two dark haired leaders of the expedition pulled their horses up in front of the now stationary group, and paused, inhaling a long intake of breath before slowly releasing it, relieved smiles upon their faces. This was the fourth time in around two hundred years that Lord Elrond's twin sons, Elladan and Elrohir, were sent out as the leaders of this regular expedition. And although they loved to travel and experience the varying cultures of Middle Earth, they were always pleased to arrive home afterwards.

It only took Elrohir, the youngest of the twins, a few seconds to leap effortlessly from his horse and walk the few steps to the river's edge. He dropped to his knees and placed both of his hands into the cool, clear water, scooping the liquid into his palms before splashing it over his face. He sat back on his heels tilting his head up to the sky and let out a long contented sigh while closing his eyes.

Elladan, the eldest of the twins, still sat upon his horse and smiled widely at his brother, for he seemed to do this every time they came back to Rivendell after their long journeys, with it almost becoming a ritual.

"The sooner you get up off the floor and back onto your horse, the sooner we can all cross this ford and finally arrive home." said Elladan, still smiling at his brother.

Elrohir seemed to ignore Elladan's comment, and continued to keep his head tilted upwards while taking in deep intakes of breath, relishing in the familiar smells and sounds of his surroundings. And after a few moments he gently opened his eyes and tilted his head back down to look at the river flowing in front of him. "It's good to be home." Elrohir whispered to himself before standing up and slowly taking the few steps back to his horse, which he leapt upon with great ease. Turning his head towards his brother, he could see that Elladan was looking at him with a big, almost teasing, grin upon his face.

"What are you laughing at?" Elrohir snapped at his brother.

"I'm not laughing, I'm smiling" was Elladan's smart response, still holding that same grin on his face.

"Ok, so what are you _smiling_ at?" Elrohir's emphasis on the word 'smiling', and his now serious expression, showed Elladan that his brother's anger at being mocked was beginning to rise, which only encouraged Elladan to tease him further.

Elrohir had always been the most boisterous and short-tempered of the two brothers, with their father even referring to him as 'wild' and 'unruly' more times than one. Elrohir would always be the one up to more mischief, and general disobedience. He was a free-spirited elf, who found it impossible to remain still for too long, usually getting bored very quickly. And his fiery, unpredictable character had seen him get into many random brawls with people who may have thrown him a wrong look, or made a passing comment, which would usually end up with an unconscious elf or man on the floor, and Elrohir standing over him with a fat lip or a black eye! And this would usually be followed by a scolding from his father. Elrohir just didn't have the ability to keep calm and walk away from those types of confrontations. Unlike his brother.

Elladan was the calmer, more level-headed of the twins. He was a fairly quiet elf, but in no way was he shy. He had a quiet confidence about him, with a composed, authoritative air. He was able to take control of most affairs, and complex scenarios that he sometimes found himself in. It would be him that would do most of the talking and negotiations when it came to business. And it would be him that would have to drag his brother from troublesome situations, and keep a close eye on him to try and steer him away from further trouble.

But sometimes, Elladan just couldn't resist the urge to wind Elrohir up. With Elrohir's fiery temperament, it was just such an easy thing to achieve.

"I was smiling at your little ritual you have going on there. Are there any more you have planned that we should know about? Just so we all have an idea as to whether we'll manage to make it through the gates of Imladris before the end of the Third Age." Elladan said to his brother, still holding the teasing grin upon his face.

Elrohir's expression became more sterner, and the anger rising within him at his brother's teasing, was now clearly evident on his face. "Shut your face, Elladan, or I'll shut it for you!" was all Elrohir could muster before turning his gaze back towards the river, and suddenly starting his horse into a gallop across The Ford.

Elladan, now sniggering to himself and to the elves beside him, gently kicked his heels into the sides of his horse and followed his brother across The Ford, signalling to the rest of the party to follow.

The party entered into the realm of Rivendell - known as Imladris amongst the elves - just as the sun had disappeared beyond the horizon. It was now dusk, and what little sunlight remained of that day, was dimly casting itself over the beautiful landscape. The party were met by a few of the border guards, who had called for some stable hands to retrieve the horses from the weary group. As the horses were led away, the party steadily made their way up the stone steps that led to the grand halls and main residences of Imladris. The view from the top of the steps was breathtaking, with each member of the group pausing to take in the spectacular sight of the great valley with its vast array of waterfalls thundering from a great height into the waters below. Stunning gardens and carefully kept green areas dotted the landscape, and beautifully carved buildings added to the magnificence. And with the moonlight giving the landscape a white, eerie glow, it only added to the magic of this place.

"It's good to have you all home." said a voice from behind them, interrupting the group from their brief reverie. They turned around to see Lord Elrond standing there, a warm smile upon his face. The group immediately placed their hands on to their chests and bowed their heads at Elrond, as was a typical greeting amongst the elves. Elrond returned the same greeting to the group with a slight bow of his head, "You are fortunate to have arrived back at this time, for you have managed to catch the start of the evening feast. There are refreshments for you all in the Great Hall, and your chambers are still readily awaiting you, for I'm sure you are all weary from your travels."

With that, the group, with the exception of the twins, gave another bow of their heads in gratitude and walked away from Elrond, heading towards the Great Hall.

Elrond turned to face his twin sons who, immediately after the departure of their travelling companions, both embraced their father in a joyous hug. "It's good to see you Ada (Dad)!" said Elladan, still embracing his father tightly.

"Aye, we've missed your constant lectures and scolding, Ada." said Elrohir with a warm affectionate smile upon his face.

Elrond let out a huge laugh at this last comment, embracing his sons once more. "There'll be no lectures tonight, Elrohir. I'm giving you the night off!" Elrond said with a heart-warming smile. "Come, let us get something to eat. And unless there's anything I should know about right away, then you can both retire for the night, and we'll discuss your travels in the morning." Elrond then placed his arms around the shoulders of his two sons, and guided them towards the Great Hall.


	2. Reunited

Chapter Two - Reunited

The early-Spring morning sunlight gently shone into Elrohir's bed chambers, reflecting off the warm magnolia colours of the walls, causing him to stir from his deep slumber. His long, straight black hair cascaded over his bare back and shoulders as he lay on his stomach, slowly trying to wake himself up, but finding it much easier to just give up and fall back to sleep.

He wasn't sure how long he had been drifting in and out of sleep, when a loud knock sounded on his bedroom door.

Elrohir, still lying on his stomach wearing only a thin pair of breeches, lazily opened one eye with a frown, and stared at the door. "Why can't I just be left alone?" he muttered to himself.

Another knock sounded, and much louder this time. "If that's Elladan, I'll send him to an early grave!" he growled to himself.

The knock sounded again, this time with great force and such strength, that it couldn't be ignored. "It must be Elladan, for only he would be such a persevering pain in the ass!" he muttered to himself through gritted teeth.

"What do you want?!" Elrohir then shouted from his bed.

At that, the bedroom door was suddenly forced opened, almost swinging off it's hinges with the speed. Elrohir was still lying there, ready to give a verbal bashing to his brother, when, instead of Elladan, in walked a young maiden carrying a breakfast tray.

Elrohir was surprised that such a thunderous hammering on the door could've come from someone so small. She was quite short, he thought to himself, only about 5'4", and she was of slim build.

The first thing he noticed was how the dark green dress she was wearing, exposed her shoulders, and perfectly sculpted collar bone. And the way the dress clung to every curve on her body, and moulded perfectly over her slightly large and rounded breasts, was a little too much for Elrohir to take. His mood suddenly calmed at this observation, for being presented with this sight was more than enough compensation for being woken up so abruptly.

She had dark brown hair that reached just below her shoulders, slightly curly, and even a bit messy he thought to himself. She had a clear, pale complexion, with skin that was a mixture of tones of pink and white. And she had large, round, dark blue eyes, that stared at Elrohir from her position at the foot of his bed.

She was a strange elleth (female elf), he thought to himself. What with her white and pinkish skin tone, her short height, her mad hair, and the faint brown freckles she had dotted over her nose and shoulders, she certainly wasn't the pure, flawless image of all the other elleths he knew of. But these traits of hers weren't a bad thing he thought as he stared at her more closely. No, she was actually quite beautiful. Her body was very desirable, her face had prominent cheek bones that made her striking to look at, and she had full pink lips. And then there were those eyes! Those eyes were beautiful!

Elrohir snapped out of his daydreaming when the maiden, after setting down the breakfast tray, suddenly placed her hands on her hips and looked at him with an angry frown upon her face.

"It's about time you woke up! Elladan's been up for ages! We all have!"

Elrohir couldn't hide the shocked expression on his face at the way this strange maiden was addressing him. He just continued to stare at her, not quite sure what to say.

"Quickly, eat your breakfast!" She ordered him.

He was now starting to feel a little awkward, and even a bit embarrassed at the way this stranger was barking orders at him, and made a mental note that he may need to have a word with Ada about this, supposedly, cuckoo staff member who, he noticed, was still glaring at him from her position at the foot of his bed.

Then, to his even greater surprise, the maiden suddenly spun around and walked over to his wardrobe, quickly pulling out some of his clothing, and then threw the items at him from across the room.

"You need to get dressed, Elrohir, and go down to Ada's study before he comes to fetch you himself!"

He was confused by her addressing Elrond as 'Ada'. And was even more confused, and a little frightened, when the maiden then smiled widely and ran across the room towards him, throwing herself onto the bed before leaning down to give him a long hard kiss on the cheek. She then pulled back a bit, her face now only a few inches from his, displaying a radiant smile which, Elrohir noticed, brought a look of sheer happiness, and even a bit of mischief to those gorgeous eyes of hers.

"It's good to have you home Elrohir, I've really missed you." She said to him, still smiling at him radiantly.

He stared at her for a few moments, still trying to wake himself up so that he could try to work out what the hell was going on!

Then, the sudden realisation as to who this maiden was, hit Elrohir like a ton of bricks!

"Lynwen? It cannot be you!" Elrohir gasped with wide eyes, staring up at the maiden before him.

The girl laughed at his statement. "Of course it's me, Ro! Did you not recognise me?" she asked him curiously, with a slight tilt of her head.

Elrohir quickly sat up on his bed and pulled Lynwen into a strong embrace, tightly wrapping his arms around her and giving her a bone crushing hug. He then placed both of his hands on her shoulders and slowly pushed her away from him so that he could take another look at her. He just couldn't believe he was looking at the once, snotty faced, human child, that his father had taken into his care many years ago when she had been found on the borders of Rivendell at only a few months old.

Elrohir and his brother had been sent out on patrol that day, seventeen years ago, after news had reached them that orcs had been spotted near the perimeter of Rivendell. The brothers had found the human baby lying hidden in a crib near the slaughtered bodies of, who were presumably, her parents. It was an obvious orc attack, and the baby they had found hidden under a cloak on the back of the wooden cart, was lucky to still be alive. The cloak, obviously being a last minute desperate attempt by her parents to try and hide their child from the attacking orcs. And it had worked. And although a little distressed, the baby was well, and she was taken back to Rivendell by the twins and presented to their father. And not knowing where the slaughtered couple had come from, or where they were going to, Lord Elrond had no choice but to raise the child himself, giving her the name, Lynwen.

Elrohir was now smiling widely at Lynwen with so much warmth and affection upon his face.

"How could I recognise you!? I've been gone twelve years, and you've... grown so much!" He said, looking her up and down again. "I just can't believe it's you, Lynwen!" He embraced her again, holding her close to his chest, his arms wrapped around her back. His surprise at seeing her was obvious in his actions as he placed his hands on either side of her head, pulling himself away from her slightly.

"Let me look at you!" He said, and looked at her with a mixture of surprise and compassion on his face, shaking his head a little in disbelief. He started to run his hands over her hair, pushing stray strands away from her face. He was taking in every inch of her, studying her intently.

"I've missed you too, little one!" he finally said, still looking her up and down. "And you were what, five years old when me and Elladan left for the expedition?" he was still a little stunned as he spoke.

"Yes, I was five", she said, smiling at his reaction to seeing her. "And I remember watching you leave through those gates like it was yesterday!"

Elrohir still had his hands on either side of her head, one hand still fingering her hair slightly, as if he was studying it, still trying to accept that it really was her. Lynwen then brought up one of her hands and placed it over his, and looked down at the bed a little sheepishly.

"You know, I cried for months after you'd gone. When Ada explained to me that you weren't going to be coming back for a very long time, I felt such an emptiness inside me, even at that young age."

Elrohir smiled at her even more, his warm affection for this young girl, no, young _woman_, sitting in front of him, just radiated from his being even more. And by looking at how grown up she was, suddenly made him very aware of his lack of clothing right now!

She tilted her head up slightly to look at him again, that mischief he'd spotted before, now clearly evident in her eyes.

"And, I never did find anyone else who could get me into all sorts of trouble like you did, Ro."

Elrohir laughed heartedly at her last comment, her use of his nickname making him even more happy to have her here with him again, and instantly putting him at ease. He moved his hand down from the side of her head and affectionately placed it upon her cheek. He leaned his face into hers and gazed into her eyes, the same mischief now flashing in his.

"Well I'm back now, little one" he said, with a cheeky grin upon his face.


	3. Unexpected Attraction

Chapter 3 - Unexpected Attraction

After he'd quickly eaten the breakfast that Lynwen had brought him, while having to listen to her talking incessantly, Elrohir then swiftly made his way down the open-air corridors that overlooked the stunning scenery of his home land, and towards his father's study. Upon reaching the room, he quickly entered and sat down opposite his father and Elladan.

"Nice of you to join us, Elrohir" his father said sarcastically, while still looking down at his papers on the desk in front of him.

"Sorry Ada, I overslept. And then I got into a long conversation with Lynwen and lost track of the time!"

Elrond looked up at Elrohir at this, but remained silent.

"Have you seen her, Elladan? Lynwen, I mean! Have you seen her yet?!" Elrohir's surprise at seeing her was obvious to the two sat in front of him.

"Aye, I saw her. It was me who sent her to your room to wake you up!" Elladan replied.

"I didn't know who she was at first!" Elrohir spoke with such excitement. "I thought Ada had employed some mad woman into the household!" Elrohir nodded his head in his father's direction at this comment. "And then it just came to me! I just suddenly realised it was Lynwen! I don't know how because she looks so... different! Maybe it was that same look in her eyes she used to have as a kid, I suppose. But she's changed so much, a grown woman, can you believe it?!" Elrohir's surprise and excitement at seeing her was still very evident in his voice.

"Yes, I can believe it Elrohir. We've been gone twelve years. So I kind of expected to find her twelve years older." Elladan sarcastically replied.

Elrond was still looking up at Elrohir from his papers, his position unchanged, his face with a hint of seriousness and concern. Elladan's sarcastic comment went unnoticed by Elrohir, and instead his attention was now fixed on the way his father was staring at him. It was as if his father was studying him, watching his actions and listening to his words intently.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Elrohir suddenly asked his father.

Elrond looked at his son a moment longer before slowly leaning back in his chair, eyes still on Elrohir.

"No reason, ion nin (my son)." he said, while slowly taking his eyes off Elrohir. He then held up the papers in his hand. "Well, Elladan has informed me of the first part of your expedition, so let us all continue on with the rest, shall we?"

It was hours later when Elrond finally allowed his twin sons to leave his study. Happy with the amount of information that they had provided him with, but still eager to hear more, especially of the tales of growing activities in Mordor. So he had arranged for the three of them to continue their meeting the following morning.

Elrohir was the first to leave his father's study, breaking out of there like a mini tornado, leaving the door swinging from its hinges as he ran out. Elladan, a lot more calmer, and slower paced than his brother, stopped in the doorway before exiting the study, and turned to face his father.

"You worry Elrohir may get too close to Lynwen, don't you? I could see it written all over your face earlier."

Elrond looked up at his son at this, the same concerned expression he had earlier, now evident in his face once again. He sighed deeply, placing his papers on his desk before looking up at Elladan once more.

"I know how easily Elrohir can get... distracted, shall we say. And I love Lynwen as if she were my own flesh and blood, but I came to accept the fact that she is mortal a long time ago and therefore, won't be with us forever. But I'm not sure that Elrohir has ever realised this, and so..." he sat down in his chair and let out a long exasperated sigh. "...I don't know, Elladan, maybe I'm getting concerned too soon. I suppose they've only just met again this morning, and it's still very early on but..." Elrond stared into open space for a moment, "...I've seen that look in Elrohir's eyes before. I know when he's taken a keen interest in someone."

Elladan now looking at the floor, nodded in agreement. "As you said, Ada, it's still very early to worry about this. Elrohir always had a soft spot for Lynwen when she was a child, and they were always very close. It's possible that he was just genuinely happy to see the child that he always adored all those years ago, and that there really is nothing more to it."

"I hope you're right, ion nin." Elrond smiled weakly at his son standing in front of him. "We shall just have to wait and see."

xxx

Elrohir leapt over the wall of the open-aired corridors, and into the gardens below. There was only one place he was heading for, and that was the top of the valley. It was a place he had always escaped to for most of his life. It offered a perfect aerial view of Rivendell, and all its beauty. And it also presented a spectacular view of the sunset beyond the valley, and into the horizon in the far distance.

As Elrohir walked up the hill of the valley and finally reached his favourite spot near the top, he stood there a moment looking out at his home below, a soft content sigh escaping his lips. He then sat down next to the tiny stream that gently trickled down the hillside to the river far below. The gentle sound the tiny stream offered, soothing to Elrohir's ears. He leaned back against a rock, and put his hands behind his head, looking out over the horizon waiting for the sun to set.

After lying there in silence for a while, he suddenly found himself thinking about Lynwen again. About the way she looked that morning. Yes, of course it was logical for her to have aged after twelve years, but it still didn't stop him being any less shocked by it. Shocked by her strange beauty and that womanly body she had developed. He then chuckled to himself as he realised that some things about her hadn't changed at all. Like her mad, unruly hair, and her nutty personality.

He remembered how he used to bring her up here sometimes when she was little, and how they'd watch the sun set together. Which would always be followed by who could spot the most shooting stars as they'd laid on their backs looking up at the night sky. Elrohir always letting her win, of course.

Elrohir had taken Lynwen under his wing from a very young age, as she seemed to find it difficult to make friends. He'd witnessed a few times how the elflings (young elves) would shun Lynwen when she'd tried to play with them, not wanting someone who was not like them to be in their circle of friends. It always upset him, and made him angry to see this, but his father had explained to him all those years ago that unfortunately for Lynwen, she would probably have to endure this sort of behaviour from elves for most of her life, for elves were notorious at being wary of developing close relationships with humans. Probably because of the fact that humans would always end up dying after such a 'small' number of years, and so it was just less painful for them to not get too close.

It suddenly made him feel very guilty for being away for the past twelve years. Remembering what Lynwen had said to him in his bedroom that morning, about how she'd cried for months after he'd left. He wondered how she'd faired in the years he'd been gone. Had she managed to make any friends? Had she even began courting someone?

This last thought sent a surge of jealously through Elrohir, which confused him greatly. How could he be jealous of the possibility that Lynwen, the scruffy, boisterous, tom-boy of a child, that he'd left behind years ago, could be courting someone else?

But thinking back to seeing her that morning standing at the foot of his bed, her slender figure so appealing, he knew that she wasn't a child anymore. No, she's grown into quite a stunning young woman, he thought to himself. "Could even pass for a Lady if she just kept her mouth shut." he laughed to himself.

"Do you always talk to yourself, Ro?" The question startled Elrohir from his thoughts, and he sat up suddenly to see Lynwen approaching him. She wasn't in her dark green dress anymore. She was wearing a pair of long black leggings, and a long white shirt that went half way down her thighs. Elrohir smiled to himself as he observed her clothing. She always did prefer to wear 'boys clothes' when she was a child, kicking up a fuss when Ada would insist she wear a dress. He suspected it was Ada who insisted on the dress she was wearing this morning, too!

But looking at her now, he thought she looked even more beautiful than she did this morning. The leggings, hugging the curve of her thighs, and the shirt hanging slightly loose around her body but with the top few buttons undone, showing her elegant neck and collarbone again. Her dark brown hair, tousled ,and hanging loosely around her face. The setting sun was reflecting off her face, illuminating her deep blue eyes. She wasn't a perfect, flawless beauty, not in the way elleths typically were, but she was stunning in a rough and rugged sort of way. He just couldn't take his eyes away from her.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her a little abruptly, not quite knowing what else to say in his stunned 'deer in the headlights' disposition he'd suddenly found himself in.

"You're not the only one who escapes up here, Ro. I've come here almost every night of my life, thanks to you." She turned to face the horizon in front of her. "I love it up here! It's just so peaceful and quiet, with no one nagging you every five seconds!" She sat down next to Elrohir, and leant back, resting on her elbows, staring out at the view in front of them. Elrohir turned his head and looked down at her, a warm affectionate smile on his face.

She could sense him looking at her. "What?" she asked him, turning her head to stare at him as well.

"Nothing. It's just, you haven't actually changed much at all! You're still running off, gallivanting around the place. And I suspect you're still causing trouble, and adding years onto Ada's life as if he were mortal, otherwise, why would you be being 'nagged every five seconds'?" Elrohir was smiling broadly at her as he was saying this. His eyes glinting with that teasing sarcasm that he usually had.

"The same goes for you, too! You were late for your meeting with Ada this morning. And you're still escaping up here I see, also to escape the incessant nagging, I suspect?" Lynwen said, a one-sided smirk upon her face.

Elrohir laughed at this. "You still know me so well, little one."

Lynwen arched an eyebrow at him, "Ro, I'm seventeen, are you always going to be calling me that? I'm not little anymore."

Elrohir turned and looked at Lynwen once more, slowly taking in every feature of her face. Then he looked up into her blue eyes, gazing at her for a moment, "Aye, you're not little anymore, Lynwen. You've become a very beautiful young woman." Elrohir couldn't bring himself to look away from her.

Lynwen suddenly burst out laughing. A dirty, infectious laugh that set his insides alight with affection. She reached out one of her hands and pushed his shoulder, shoving him backwards slightly. "Shut up, Ro! You're starting to make me think you've turned soft on your travels!" she said, still laughing.

That gentle shove on his shoulder had stirred a reaction within Elrohir, and all he wanted was to be touched by her again, even if it was just another shove, or even a punch, he didn't care! And the way the setting sun was still reflecting off her face causing her skin to glow in orange and pink colours, emphasizing her full pink lips, just fuelled the feelings surging through his body at that moment.

"So tell me about your travels!" Lynwen brought him back to reality with a start. "Did you get to see anything exciting? Did you get into any dangers? Any fights? Well, that's a stupid question, I'm certain you must have gotten into some fights. You probably started them! Did you meet any interesting people? Tell me about the human lands? What are the human race like? Are they very different from elves? I suspect they probably are, I mean, I know I'm very different from you lot! Oooh! Did you see any dwarves?! I'd love to see a dwarf! I bet they look really cute! Although I've heard otherwise from some people, well only from elves, and what with that icy relationship you all have with dwarves, I suppose you're always going to have bad things to say about them. And what about ..."

Elrohir gently pressed a finger to Lynwen's lips to silence her, but just couldn't help laughing at her. She really hadn't changed at all. Well, her personality at least anyway.

"Lynwen, one question at a time, please!" he said, still laughing.

She smiled under his finger, looking at him a little embarrassed.

"I'm sorry Ro, it's just that it's always so boring here, and I haven't really got anyone to talk to. And I'd love to travel one day, and experience the sights that you've been lucky enough to see. Go on an adventure, you know?"

Elrohir dropped his finger from her lips and looked at her affectionately. "Maybe you will, one day. Who knows what the future may bring."

She let out a long, deep sigh, and turned towards the horizon again. "I hope so, Ro. There's a big world out there just waiting to be explored, and I just hope I get the opportunity to see it."

They sat in silence for a few moments, watching the sun slowly sinking from the sky.

"So what have you been up to in the twelve years I've been gone?" he asked her, trying to distract himself from the feelings he was experiencing in her company.

Lynwen rolled her eyes and tutted. "Nothing. Just been studying, mostly. And Ada has recently instructed my hand maiden to teach me in the 'proper' ways of an elleth, or woman, in my case. So she's been teaching me how to sew, how to cook, and just how to make a good little wife for someone." She rolled her eyes again at that last comment.

Elrohir's head snapped up at her. "Is Ada planning to marry you off to someone?!"

"I'm not sure. I get the feeling he's planning something. He seems to be in a lot of contact with human lords of late, and is even trying to arrange a meeting with one of them, and with their son as well, I suppose! She tutted again.

Why was he feeling so jealous at this information she was providing him with? It was only Lynwen. That annoying little kid who would run and speak at a hundred miles per hour! The kid who would burst into his room early in the mornings scaring him half to death and waking him up. Well, nothing's changed there! he thought to himself. And sometimes, in the past, he'd even have an elleth in the bed with him from the night before! But Lynwen never seemed to notice anything untoward about that, still deciding to jump up and down on his bed until he'd gotten up!

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to, Lynwen." He surprised himself a little with his response, but couldn't stop himself from continuing. "You have to follow your heart. Do what makes you happy, and not what makes someone else happy."

She smiled at him, a look of appreciation on her face. "Thanks, Ro. And don't worry, I intend to!"

He knew she wasn't bluffing. Even as a child, she was very headstrong and wouldn't take instructions from others, lightly.

"But these are just things I over hear when I'm walking around sometimes, so I may be wrong about the whole thing, but I doubt that I am."

"You mean, these are things that you hear when you're purposely eaves dropping on other people's conversations?" Elrohir said, arching an eyebrow at her.

"I learnt from the best, Ro!" She smirked at him and gave him a little wink of appreciation.

He laughed at this, and laid back down on the grass, putting his hands behind his head. Lynwen followed suit, and laid down on her back next to him.

They completely lost track of the time up there on top of that valley. They'd spent the next few hours just talking and filling each other in on what each of them had been doing over the last twelve years. Elrohir explaining in detail the different sights he'd witnessed on the expedition, which really got Lynwen's attention. She was hanging on his every word, keen to hear more every time he'd finished talking.

The sun had set hours before, and they were now laying on their backs gazing up at the night sky, laughing and reminiscing about old times. Lynwen had moved to lay a little closer to Elrohir, complaining at how cold the night air had become. Elrohir felt himself flinch a little when Lynwen's body came into contact with his. She was laying as close as she could get to his body now, clearly unaware as to what her actions were doing to him. And after a few minutes of this close contact, Elrohir could stand no more and moved away from her slightly, turning onto his side. He was now propping his upper body up with his elbow, his head resting in the palm of his hand, looking down at her, she, still laying on her back.

The moonlight was now reflecting off her face, replacing the sunlight from before, giving her an eerie silver glow. It was mesmerising to see. Lynwen turned her head to look up at him, her eyes now reflecting the silver glow of the moon. Elrohir was transfixed by the sight before him.

He unknowingly reached out his free hand and cupped her cheek, gazing at her lovingly. Oh how he'd give anything to kiss those lips right now. Those soft, pink, full lips. Just to feel them against his own, to know what they taste like.

He found himself slowly leaning his face towards hers. Gently pulling her lips to his with the hand he had had cupping her cheek previously, but was now placed at the back of her head, supporting her as he was pulling her upper body off the ground towards him. She seemed to just allow him to bring her mouth to his, not refusing his actions at all.

His lips, now just a hair's breadth from hers, were softly being brushed with her warm, slow, steady breath. He could see her eyes were now closed and her face tilted up slightly, as if waiting for him to finally make contact with her. The moment was intense, nothing like he'd ever experienced before.

Then, the sudden realization as to what he was about to do, woke Elrohir up out of his lust-filled daze, and he pulled back from her quickly, dropping his hand from her head in the process. Lynwen didn't fall back on to the ground from his lack of support, luckily, as he had pulled her up into an almost sitting position during his attempt to kiss her. And she was now laying on her side, both of her hands on the ground in front her, propping her upper body up. Her eyes were now open and she was looking at him intently, a serious, shocked, and confused expression on her face.

Elrohir quickly looked away from her and stood up abruptly, brushing himself down. "I best get back to the house." he said, before quickly walking away, and back down the hill of the valley. "I'll see you at breakfast in the morning." he called back over his shoulder to her, before he turned again and hurried away down the hillside, mentally kicking himself for his actions.


	4. Desire

Chapter 4 - Desire

Lynwen woke up the following morning feeling utterly exhausted after finding it difficult to fall asleep the night before. She couldn't stop thinking about Elrohir, and what he was about to do. Was he really about to kiss her? Elrohir? The ellon (male elf) she'd always looked up to as an older brother? She couldn't deny that he was handsome, incredibly sexy, even! And she wasn't even sure that she would've denied him that kiss if he'd actually gone through with it.

Wait! What was she thinking?! Was she attracted to him?

Up until that intense moment last night where they'd almost kissed, she'd still seen him as a brother figure, completely comfortable and at ease in his company, despite the years they'd had apart. But that attempted kiss seemed to have awoken some passionate feelings towards him that she hadn't realised she'd been holding.

She dragged herself out of bed to get ready, dreading the moment she'd have to face him again at breakfast. She made her way into the small bathroom that was attached to her bedroom, and stumbled into the shower, which was sourced from an underground spring.

She emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later wrapped in a towel, and sat at her vanity table. She attempted to tidy her hair with her fingers, knowing that a brush would just make it a hundred times worse!

Just thinking of Elrohir was causing her stomach to flutter in excitement. She sighed deeply, looking at herself in the large oval mirror that was attached to the back of her vanity table.

"He only arrived back the night before last. How could I suddenly be so attracted to him?" she said to herself, looking at the way her hair was obviously just going to do its own thing, regardless of how much she fiddled with it!

She reluctantly got dressed in a navy blue, long sleeved dress, that she found incredibly uncomfortable. She hated the way dresses always seemed to cling to her, digging into her armpits. And no matter how many times she'd had them adjusted and altered, they were always just so bloody uncomfortable! Why her father insisted on her wearing these damn things, was beyond her!

She made her way down the open-air corridors towards the dining room, and when she reached the door, she paused a moment. She needed to compose herself a little, get ready to face Elrohir again. And knowing that she was already late, she also needed to ready herself for a possible scolding from her father.

After taking a few deep breaths, Lynwen opened the dining room door with confidence, her head held up high a little. But after entering, she instantly felt relieved at the sight before her because, Elrohir was not there. Seated at the table was her father, Elladan, her sister Arwen, and her other brother, Estel. They all paused their eating of their breakfast to look up at her, her two brothers and her sister, all smirking at her. Her father was seated the furthest away at the head of the table, so he couldn't see the expressions on her siblings' faces, but she knew that they were trying not to laugh, eagerly awaiting the sarcastic comment that was guaranteed to be made by Elrond, at Lynwen's late arrival.

"Aah, Lynwen! Good morning. You've finally decided to get up out of bed, and join us!" was Elrond's smart remark as she made her way to the table. Hmm, that wasn't too bad, she thought to herself. She'd heard far worse from him than that, in the past.

"And did you see that reckless brother of yours, on your way here?" Elrond asked her as she reached the edge of the table.

Lynwen knew he was referring to Elrohir, for he was now the only one missing from the breakfast table. She opened her mouth to deny any sightings of him, when...

"I'm here, Ada."

Lynwen turned to see Elrohir closing the dining room door behind him before walking towards the table. She suddenly felt herself feeling a little anxious as he was approaching the spot where she was standing. She quickly turned away from him and re-focused on the rest of her family seated in front of her. She sensed Elrohir had stopped, and was now stood right next to her.

"Good morning everyone." he addressed his family sat at the table. He then, apprehensively, turned to face Lynwen standing beside him, and looked at her a little awkwardly. "Good morning Lynwen." His voice was quite quiet now, his greeting sounding almost like a question.

Lynwen looked up at him, seeing a look of apprehension and nervousness on his face. And his grey eyes were boring into her, as if trying to establish what she was feeling.

"Good morning Elrohir." She said a little sheepishly, and quickly looked away from him again, not sure of how to deal with these mixture of feelings that were suddenly rushing through her body.

"Are either of you going to sit down and join us?" was Elrond's question, which brought Elrohir and Lynwen's attention back to the present.

Breakfast lasted around half an hour, and consisted of mainly fruit and pastries. Lynwen made a conscious effort throughout the meal to look anywhere, and at anyone, but Elrohir. She could sense him looking at her from across the table sometimes, but she never once acknowledged him. She'd never felt this awkward and uncomfortable before in her life. Nor this confused! She knew that she found him attractive, but didn't know if she wanted to act on those feelings. Or maybe she wanted _him_ to act on those feelings, instead! All she knew was that she just felt too embarrassed, and so damn awkward to face him right now. She needed to get out of there as soon as possible and avoid him like the plague!

So she was the first to excuse herself from the table, only to be stopped by her father.

"Lynwen, I need you to stay here for a few moments as I have some things I need to discuss with you."

Lynwen reluctantly sat back down in her chair, feeling Elrohir's eyes upon her once again

Then, after what seemed like a lifetime, Elrohir, along with the others, finally excused themselves, leaving just Lynwen and Elrond seated at the table. Lynwen noticed Estel hesitantly brushing his hand against Arwen's arm as they left. She knew something was going on between the two of them, for they weren't doing a very good job of hiding it lately. And with Estel not being blood related to Arwen or the rest of the family, either, then why shouldn't they find a bit of happiness in each other? She thought to herself.

As the others closed the dining room door behind them, Elrond turned to Lynwen.

"Lynwen, I'd like to speak with you about the possibility of a marriage proposal from a very respectable young man, who is very keen to meet with you."

Lynwen looked up at her father with a shocked expression on her face. She'd suspected that this was going to happen but still, nothing could've prepared her for it.

"Ada, I'm not ready to marry! And I'm not going to marry some stranger I've never met before!" Her voice raised, somewhat considerably.

"Now now, Lynwen, calm down. You're eighteen next month, so you should be more than ready to start thinking about marriage. And I wouldn't consider just anyone, as a possible husband for you, unless I was completely satisfied that they would take good care of you."

"Ada, you can't be serious?! You're really going to just marry me off?" With so many questions and protests running through her mind at that moment, the only thing she could get her mouth to put together was; "But, why!?"

"I think it would be a good idea for you to live in a land where there are many humans. People you could relate to."

Lynwen's anger was beginning to rise. "But you're not forcing Estel to go and live in another kingdom! And he's human, too!"

Elrond sighed. "Lynwen, Estel has made a life for himself up north, and he very rarely comes back here anymore. And even if he did, I would never force him to leave Imladris. Just like I'm not forcing you."

Lynwen was silent for a moment, not quite understanding what was happening.

"You want me to leave?" Eventually came her quiet question for him.

Elrond's face softened with compassion at his daughter sat in front of him. He stood up and walked over to her, sitting himself down on the chair next to her. He took a hold of both of her hands, and looked at her with a hint of sorrow etched into his expression.

"Lynwen, of course I don't want you to leave. I'd love to have you here until the end of your days! And this will always be your home, you know that. But I believe that it's important for you to be with your own kind. To be with a human man who can care for you, grow old with you, and to love you as you so deserve."

Lynwen sat there in silence, feeling a little rejected. She'd always known that she was different from the elves living in Rivendell, never quite feeling as if she fitted in, or even belonged there. But despite this, it was still her home. She'd grown up there and had never travelled outside, so she didn't know any different. Plus her family were here. Ok, so they weren't her blood family, but they were the only family she'd ever had, and she loved them dearly. And they her. So why was she being sent away to some strange kingdom to marry a man she'd never met before?

"Lynwen?" Elrond had placed a hand onto her cheek and was looking at her with an anxious expression on his face. She looked up at him, meeting his old grey eyes, but remained silent.

"Lynwen, we're your family, and we love you, and you will always have a place here. But I've seen how difficult it's been for you over the years to make friends, and to feel a part of this place. And it breaks my heart to see you so alone. And I'm not asking you to marry right away. I've arranged for you to meet this young man first, after your birthday next month. And you will see for yourself that he's a very decent young man, and will make you a good husband."

Lynwen still sat in silence, not knowing how to respond. She supposed her father was right about her being with her own kind. And she had always found it quite difficult to mix with others in this place. But that didn't mean she was unhappy here! She loved her family, her home, but most of all, she loved being free! The thought of being tied down in a marriage scared her a little.

But hearing her father's words, made her think that she'd at least meet this man first before making her mind up.

"Ok, Ada. I'll meet with him."

Elrond's face softened somewhat in relief.

"But know this, Ada. If after meeting him I feel that he isn't the one for me, then I will not marry him! Ok?" Her voice had become slightly more audible, again.

Elrond let out a defeated sigh at his daughter's strong determination. She'd always been like this, never doing anything that she didn't want to do. But he couldn't argue with her on this one. It was a big thing he was asking her to do.

"Ok, I think that's fair." Elrond managed a weak smile at her, and caressed her cheek one last time with a moment of silence falling between them.

"Ok. So you're finally excused from the table, Lynwen." He smiled at his last comment, and Lynwen gave him a weak smile in return. She stood up from her seat and made her way to the dining room door, leaving Elrond seated at the table, watching her walk away from him.

After she exited the dining room and closed the door behind her, she leaned back against the wall outside, shutting her eyes where she tried to fathom what it was she had just agreed to.

She jumped as a hand suddenly grabbed a hold of hers, waking her from her thoughts. She opened her eyes quickly to see who it was who had frightened her half to death, and found herself, regrettably, looking into the grey eyes of Elrohir. He was leaning out from behind the pillar that was opposite to where she was stood, his arm out-stretched to her across the open-air corridor.

"I need to speak with you." He said, his eyes almost pleading with her.

Great! She thought to herself. This is all I need! Her plan of avoiding him like the plague was not panning out very well so far.

But she looked at him and nodded her acceptance, allowing herself to be led away by him, his hand still keeping a firm grip on her own. Where he was taking her to, she didn't know. Presumably to somewhere a bit more quieter, and a bit less public.

He led her away from the main residences of the city, and into a quiet corner of one of the gardens, below. He stopped once they were next to the river and safely hidden underneath the branches of a willow tree. He turned to look at her, letting go of her hand in the process.

"I... just want... I _need _to... apologise for my actions towards you last night." He was looking at her intently, and paused for a moment before continuing on. "And I'm sorry if I've now made you feel uncomfortable around me, for that was not my intention, at all."

He was staring straight into her eyes, anxiously awaiting her response. But when no response came, he took a deep breath and continued.

"Looking at you now, I can see that my actions last night have somewhat, disrupted, our once close friendship, and for that I deeply regret what I tried to do up on that valley." His face looked full of sorrow, and he slowly looked down towards the ground looking defeated, before he continued. "And so I promise you, it will never happen again!"

That last comment stirred a sudden reaction within Lynwen. A reaction of...disappointment, maybe? Disappointed at his promise to never try to kiss her again? She surprised herself with her reaction, but she couldn't help it. To think that what almost happened up on the valley the night before, may never repeat itself, disappointed her immensely.

This sudden change in her mood must have been obvious to read, because Elrohir's head snapped back up and his face dropped somewhat, a look of surprise, and even hope, was now etched into his expression.

"That's if... " he suddenly spoke, searching her eyes, and looking for some sort of confirmation before slowly continuing, ..."you never... want it to happen again?" He finished his sentence quietly, anticipation in his voice, while never taking his eyes off her.

Lynwen could feel her insides twisting with all the emotions that were rushing through her body at that moment. She was looking at the way his deep, grey eyes were boring into her, full of apprehension. The way a few strands of his long black hair had come loose from his ponytail, and were now hanging around his finely chiselled facial features, moving a little in the warm spring breeze. The sudden urge to reach up and gently move those stray strands away from his face, caressing his soft smooth skin with her fingers in the process, was so strong, that she had to physically restrain her hand at her side.

She couldn't bring herself to speak. She knew for definite that she didn't want to deny him to ever attempt to kiss her again, but nor could she conjure up the courage to ask him to kiss her again.

But her heart started to pound as Elrohir took a couple of slow steps towards her, still not taking his eyes from hers. He was now stood directly in front of her, their bodies almost touching from the closeness. He slowly reached up his right hand, and gently placed it upon her cheek.

Lynwen's breathing had now quickened to a rapid pace. And her chest was noticeably rising up and down in fast movements, as she awaited his next move.

Elrohir began to lean his face towards hers, his eyes now closed, and the hand he had placed on her cheek, gently guiding her to him. Lynwen was struggling to get her breathing under control as their mouths were now so close, and almost touching, that she could feel his hot, steady breath, tickling her lips. She realised at that moment, that she really wanted this. She wanted this, so badly. She wanted, _him, _so badly!

"Elrohir?!" Both of them quickly pulled away from each other, and looked to where the call was coming from.

"Elrohir?!" The call sounded again.

Elrohir let out a deep sigh and turned back to look at Lynwen, a look of regret on his face. "It's Elladan." he said, disappointingly. "I'd say he's come to fetch me to Ada's study, for we were supposed to meet there straight after breakfast."

Lynwen tried to hide her disappointment, but felt she wasn't doing a very good job. "Then you'd better hurry!" she said, trying to force a smile. "Late twice in one day! You're starting to make _me _look good, Ro!" She said with a half-hearted chuckle.

Elrohir's expression didn't change though, and his eyes were still boring into hers. That look of regret still evident. Regret of having to leave her.

"Elrohir!" Elladan's call was louder this time, startling them both from their intense gaze.

Elrohir looked down at the ground and sighed deeply again. "I'd better go."

"Ok." was Lynwen's quiet response.

Elrohir looked back up, and stared at her for a few more moments. He then reached out to grasp her hand, bowing slightly before respectfully placing a soft kiss upon her fingers.

"I hope to see you later, little one." He said as he looked up at her and grinned at his use of her nickname. He then turned away, and swiftly made his way towards his brother's calls, leaving her stood under the branches of the willow.

Lynwen, after watching him disappear from sight, let out a deep breath that she hadn't realised she'd been holding in. She turned away from his direction, and slumped back against the bark of the willow tree, looking out towards the calm flow of the river before her. She couldn't stop the smile that was forcing itself across her face. She reached up her hand to her mouth, slowly touching her lips with her fingers as she remembered the sensation of his breath against them. Her body was still tingling with desire. Desire to be touched by him again.

It was the most erotic moment of her life!

Well, until then, at least.


	5. Intense First Experiences

**_WARNING- This chapter contains sexual content._**

Chapter 5 - Intense First Experiences

"Will you pay attention! Look at the mess you've made of that crochet!"

Lynwen slowly came out of her daydream, and looked in the direction of her hand maiden, Anira, who was now glaring at Lynwen from her chair, opposite. Lynwen seemed to snap out of her daze in a panic, and quickly looked down at the crochet blanket on her lap that she had been attempting to make.

"You'll have to unpick that last part, and start it again! Honestly, Lynwen, you're just not with it today! You're too busy staring out of the window and daydreaming instead of concentrating!"

Lynwen couldn't deny Anira's accusations. It was true. She had been staring out of the window for most of the day. Thinking about her conversation with her father after breakfast, and what it was she had agreed to. But mainly thinking about that moment she'd shared with Elrohir afterwards. She just couldn't get it out of her mind! Couldn't get _him _out of her mind! How was it possible to feel such strong intense feelings for someone after only two days! It was madness! She took a deep breath, and mentally shook herself from her thoughts, and brought herself back to the present.

"I'm sorry, Anira. I didn't get much sleep last night. I suppose I'm just a little tired. Would you mind if I retired for the day and continued on with this tomorrow?"

Anira let out a defeated sigh, and dropped her hands into her lap. "Fine!" she said with a roll of her eyes. "But I want your full attention tomorrow, Lynwen!"

Lynwen got up and turned around to place her... well... what was supposed to be a crochet blanket, onto the chair where she had been sat moments before. She turned to face Anira with a slight bow of her head. "Le fael, Anira. (Thank you)" And with that, Lynwen left the craft room, and made her way to her bedroom.

Once she reached her bedroom door, she hurriedly opened it, practically running inside, and slammed the door closed behind her. She leaned back against her door closing her eyes, and took a deep, slow breath. After a few moments, she opened her eyes again while slowly exhaling. She had a lot going on in her head right now, and she just didn't know where to begin with it all. She walked over to her bed and heavily fell back onto it, laying on her back and staring at the ceiling.

She laid there just thinking for a long time, trying to sort through the many thoughts in her head.

She supposed her father's words made sense. She didn't really have any friends here. No one she could really talk to. Her childhood had been quite a lonely one after Elrohir had left for the expedition. She'd always been a very lively and talkative child, never finding it difficult to start conversations with others, but she always seemed to get shunned by the elves every time she approached them. But, fortunately, it was something that she never really took much notice of when she was growing up. Up until she was five, she had Elrohir keeping her busy most days, and after that, her father had somewhat taken her under his wing. Maybe it did make sense to agree to her father's wishes and marry this human man. At least she would be with her own kind and would probably not feel so lonely.

But despite this, the thought of leaving her home indefinitely, scared her a little. She'd miss her family so much! And now that Elrohir was back home, she felt even more inclined to stay.

She then found her thoughts drifting to Elrohir once more, and that moment they'd shared that morning. Her stomach started to flutter at the sheer thought of him. He was just so damn sexy! she thought to herself. What with his tall height, his slim but nicely toned body, his long black hair that contrasted beautifully against his pale skin, and his incredibly sexy smile that set his stunning eyes alight with passion and mischief, who could blame her for her sudden attraction towards him!

She thought it was so funny how her feelings towards him had changed so drastically since she was little. Back when she was a child, he was nothing more than an older 'brother' to her, and she loved him dearly in that respect, only. But now, it was something more. Much, much more!

Still laying there on her bed, Lynwen started to think back to those years as a young child, and the times she'd spent with Elrohir.

Elrohir had always made a lot time for her back then. Even taking her out for entire days! Whether it was just horse riding, picnics in the gardens, walking in the forest, or just sitting in their favourite spot on top of the valley, she always cherished every moment with him.

He'd always spoilt her a lot too, sneaking her chocolate and other treats that he'd stolen from the kitchens, or bringing her back little tokens from his patrols outside of Rivendell. He'd also taught her how to pull very effective pranks on Elladan and Estel! She smiled to herself as she remembered how they'd both break down laughing together as they watched the pranks unfold.

And he even taught her how to swim! She remembered how that took place during the summer before he left for the expedition. And thinking back, it was the most memorable summer of her life.

They'd been hit with a heat wave that summer, causing life in Rivendell to slow down completely. She remembered the elves, lazily lying around in the shade or remaining in their dwellings, the heat, draining them of any little energy they'd had left. Ada had become a little short tempered too, the heat affecting him greatly. But with him being the Lord of Rivendell, he wasn't allowed the luxury to hide away from the stifling heat like the other elves. Instead, he had to continue on with his work. But her, and Elrohir, seemed to be the only ones unaffected by the heat wave. They saw it as an opportunity to get out on their little trips more, without them being ruined by sudden downpours of rain.

During that summer, Elrohir would come to steal Lynwen away early in the mornings, much to the slight anger of her hand maiden, Anira, and would sometimes be gone with her until well after sun down. And they'd spent quite a lot of their time during those months, cooling off in the river, the high cliff edges of the valley creating a much needed shade. And they would even be joined by Elladan and Arwen, sometimes, the three siblings making a huge fuss of Lynwen, which made her feel so special at that young age.

And it was there in the river, during that summer, that Elrohir taught her how to swim. Her father had been dead set against it, saying she was too young and that it was too dangerous. But with Elrohir being the way he was, chose to ignore his father's wishes and took Lynwen swimming in the river, anyway. And it didn't take her long to learn. And in no time at all, she was able to keep herself afloat, and swim (well, sort of), without any assistance.

She found herself smiling to herself again as she remembered the way Elrohir's deep, hearty laugh used to echo around the valley surrounding them, as he would watch her kicking her legs like crazy, vast amounts of water splashing everywhere, in her attempt to swim unassisted.

She truly loved spending time with Elrohir back when she was a child. She was always searching for him if he hadn't come to collect her, and when she did find him, she'd be hanging around him all day, probably just making a nuisance of herself! Especially when sometimes, after she'd managed to hunt him down, she'd find him with an elleth in a secluded corner somewhere, both of them probably hoping for a bit of privacy! But Lynwen was so young and innocent to pick up on something like that, that she never hesitated in promptly seating herself between the two of them, and talking their ears off!

But now, as she lay there on her bed, she felt a little embarrassed at this last memory, for now being seventeen and a lot more educated, she knew what it was that Elrohir, and his random elleths, were hoping to do before she'd come along, uninvited, and innocently put a stop to their plans!

She also started to feel a little jealous as she started to remember many occasions where she'd found Elrohir with an elleth.

And she could now feel herself turning red with embarrassment as she remembered on some occasions when she'd gone into his bedroom in the mornings to wake him up, that there would sometimes be an elleth in his bed lying next to him! At the time it didn't mean anything to her. But now, she knew exactly why those elleths had been there. And she could only imagine what it was that they must have gotten up to the night before! Because, it was something that she now found herself imagining, and wanting, to take place between him, and herself...

"Ok! I need to get some air!" Lynwen said out loud, shocking herself with that last thought.

She jumped up off the bed, and left her room in a hurry.

As she got outside, she was shocked to find that it was already dark. She wondered how long, and how intensely, she had been lying on her bed, sifting through her thoughts, that she hadn't even noticed the daylight fading through her bedroom window.

She stood there at the foot of the stone steps that led down into the gardens below, and looked up unto the night sky. She wondered if Elrohir was doing the same thing up on top of the valley... Why couldn't she get him out of her head?!

She knew that she needed to unleash some energy, for being stuck indoors all day with Anira was just so suffocating! So she headed for the practice field, knowing that, however incredibly bad she was at it, releasing some arrows from her bow would help her to unload some of her problems.

She approached the practice field to find it completely deserted. She realised then that it was probably later than she had initially thought. The moonlight was casting enough of a glow on the area for her to see the targets up ahead, and so, after retrieving her bow from the storage area, she started firing arrows one after the other. She got such a thrill from doing this, and she found that her tension was already starting to ease a bit.

None of her arrows landed anywhere near the targets up ahead, and so it was a painstaking task when she had to make her way up to the other end of the field and spend ages trying to find them all! And the lack of light didn't help, either. She managed to find all of her arrows eventually, one she actually found stuck in to the _back _of the target! "How on Earth did I manage that!?" She muttered, but was actually quite impressed with herself to be able to achieve such an impossibility!

She slowly made her way back to the firing point back down the opposite end of the field, with her arrows in her hand. When she reached the firing point, she turned back around and held up her bow, notching another arrow. She focused her eyes on the target up ahead, looking straight down the length of her arrow, concentrating intently.

"Your positioning is all wrong."

She felt her insides twist at hearing the deep, smooth voice of Elrohir. She turned her head to see him leaning against a nearby tree, staring at her.

"How long have you been standing there?" She said, a little taken aback by his unexpected appearance.

"Long enough to see that you're probably the worst archer I've ever seen in my, over two and a half thousand years of life!" He said smugly, a little smirk evident on his face.

But Lynwen couldn't help but to laugh at his comment.

"Has no one ever taken the time to train you?" He asked a bit more seriously, his brow a little furrowed.

"Well, Ada instructed Glorfindel to train me up on archery, which has to be around five years ago now..." Lynwen said, her eyes looking upwards as she was thinking back. "...but after six months of training, and still no improvement in my performance, Glorfindel threw his hands up in defeat, and said that he didn't have the time to be training monkeys!"

Both Elrohir and Lynwen burst out laughing at this, as Elrohir left the tree he'd been leaning against, and started to walk towards her.

"Aye, I can imagine Glorfindel saying that!" he said, still laughing at Lynwen's description of the Head of the Rivendell Guard's reaction to her poor archery abilities. "He's never been one for patience. You did well to get six months out of him!" he said, now standing to the side of Lynwen.

A sudden awkward silence then fell between them after their laughter had died down, both of them still looking into each others eyes. Elrohir's expression had changed from the happy one it was moments before, to a look of concern. Lynwen, feeling her heart pound from his intense stare, quickly broke eye contact with him, and looked back out to the targets in front of her. But she could sense Elrohir's gaze was still upon her from his close position to her right.

"I missed you up on the valley, tonight." He said breaking the silence, his voice now quiet, and sounding a little regretful. "I hope that I have not made things worse between us after this morning, and that you're now avoiding me."

Lynwen looked back up at him, her heart aching at the sorrowful expression on his face. They stared at each other for a few moments before Lynwen replied. "I'm not avoiding you, Ro. I could never do that, for I love being in your company more than anything,..." She took a deep breath before slowly continuing, "...even more so..." she looked down at her feet now, trying to find the courage to continue on, "...even more so, after this morning." She brought her head back up to look at him now, and found herself looking at a very relieved-looking, Elrohir.

"That makes me very glad." He said, with a big smile on his face.

That smile of his, made Lynwen's stomach do somersaults! He had the most sexy smile that she'd ever seen in her life! And the way his smile caused slight laughter lines to form around his mouth, just made her want to reach up and softly caress his face. She felt herself going a little red at this thought, and quickly looked away from him again, re-notching the arrow in her bow.

"Let me help you." Elrohir said, positioning himself behind her, bringing his arms around her body and resting them on her hands.

Lynwen stiffened a little at his sudden contact, and her heart was now racing. And she really hoped that he couldn't feel the pace of her heart-beat from his intimate position behind her!

"You need to separate your feet a little more." He brought his foot between hers, and gently kicked her feet apart slightly. "And you need to twist your upper body a little." He placed his hands just above her hips, and gently twisted her upper body. He brought his head down so that his chin was almost resting on her shoulder, and his lips were right next to her ear. "And you need to bring your shoulder back like this." He brought up his right hand, and gently placed it upon her right shoulder, pulling it back slightly, with his left hand still firmly placed on the left side of her body.

The closeness of his lips next to her ear, and the way his hands were placed upon her body, was causing Lynwen's blood to soar through her at a hundred miles per hour, making her feel a little light headed in the process. She unknowingly leant back into his chest, and closed her eyes, slowly inhaling his scent. A scent that was a mixture of the masculine bathing soaps that he had obviously used that day, and his own natural scent that she couldn't associate with anything in particular, but all she knew was that it was causing her insides to ignite with passion.

Her breathing had increased slightly, now, as she could feel his warm body pressed up against her from behind.

She suddenly felt Elrohir brush her hair away from her shoulder, followed by the feeling of his hot breath on the right side of her neck, and she knew instantly that his lips were about to make contact with her skin. And the anticipation of waiting for his next move, was sending her wild with elation! With her eyes still closed, she gently tilted her head to the left to allow him more easy access to her neck.

And the moment Elrohir's lips softly began to kiss her sensitive skin, instantly caused Lynwen to melt back into his strong frame, her breathing now becoming more rapid.

His slow, sensual kisses from the base of her ear, and down the length of her neck, was so erotic, that she felt the area between her legs beginning to react. She'd never felt anything like this before, and she never wanted him to stop!

His right hand was still positioned on her shoulder, his fingers now gently fingering the neckline of her dress at the base of her neck, while still placing feather light kisses on her skin. And the pure pleasure that Lynwen was feeling at Elrohir's kisses, caused a soft moan to escape her lips, as she relished in the slow-paced, sensual moment that Elrohir was inflicting on her.

But Lynwen gasped loudly at the sudden sound of her dress being torn. Her eyes snapped open, and she quickly looked to her right to see that Elrohir was gently kissing her now, very exposed, shoulder. She could see that the neckline of her dress was ripped open, and was now hanging off of her right arm.

She was so shocked by the contrast in his actions, what with him being so gentle and caressing one second, and then grabbing a hold of the neckline of her dress and violently tearing it open, the next!

But she wasn't frightened by his extreme actions. She was actually incredibly turned on by it!

She moaned a little louder this time as Elrohir's hand moved from her shoulder, and slid into the gaping opening of her dress, gently taking a hold of her left breast. He continued with his slow, sensual kisses on her shoulder, while his hand was now massaging her breast, fingering her erect nipple in the process. Lynwen leaned her head back to rest upon his shoulder, her eyes closed once again as she let out a soft gasp of pleasure. She was completely lost in the moment, relishing in every feeling throughout her body that his touches were creating.

But she was abruptly brought back from her euphoria by the sudden feeling of something hard pressed up against her behind. Although she had never experienced sex, herself, she knew what it entailed. And she knew that what she was feeling right now, was Elrohir's hard erection.

It shocked, and scared her enough to suddenly pull away from him and move to stand a few feet away, frantically holding up her torn dress as she looked at him a little panicked.

"Lynwen, I'm sorry, I thought... I thought it was what you wanted." Elrohir looked very apprehensive, and even a little worried, as he looked at Lynwen, searching her eyes for an answer.

"It was... it _is_..." Lynwen answered, but was still looking at him with a shocked expression upon her face. "...I'm sorry Elrohir, I have to go." She said, before quickly walking away from him and back towards the house, praying that she wouldn't bump into someone on her way to her bedroom, not with the way her dress must have looked right now!

She glanced back momentarily to see Elrohir completely unmoved, still standing in the same spot she had left him in, but his head and shoulders were now stooped forward, and he was looking down at the ground looking crushed. She instantly felt guilty for leaving him the way that she did. But although she had enjoyed every second of it, she couldn't help feeling a little scared when she'd felt his hardness pressed up against her.

She regretfully turned away from his direction, and continued to quickly make her way back to her bedroom.

She laid in her bed for a long time that night just thinking about it. And after she got over her initial shock of it all, she found herself re-living that amazing experience over and over again. She couldn't stop this warm, tingling feeling, to surface between her legs every time she remembered specific moments from it! Her body was now aching to experience every single part of it again! His soft kneading of her breast, his tender kisses on her skin, even the aggression he had shown when he tore her dress open! All of it! She wanted all of it to happen again!

The feeling of being a bit scared at the end when she had unexpectedly felt his erection, was now overshadowed by her intense need to be touched by him. It excited her so much to think of him repeating those things that he'd done just a few hours before, that she felt herself getting really turned on!

She couldn't handle it anymore! She knew what she needed to do.

So she got up off her bed, and quietly opened her bedroom door. She leant her head out and looked up and down the corridor to check that no one was around, before leaving her room and quietly closing the door behind her. She tip-toed up the corridor, careful not to attract any unwanted attention, and swiftly made her way to Elrohir's bedroom.


	6. Joining

_**WARNING- This chapter contains sexual content.**_

_Apologies if there are any errors with the Sindarin used throughout this story. Please feel free to correct me if it's wrong._

Chapter 6 - Joining

Elrohir had made his way back to his bedroom not long after Lynwen had walked away from him. He didn't want to see or have to talk to anyone. He just needed to be alone.

He'd spent the last few hours sitting in the armchair in the corner of his bedroom, attempting to read a book. But none of the words were sinking in. He just couldn't stop thinking about Lynwen, trying to work out what it was that she wanted. He knew for sure, that he wanted her. But did she want him? She seemed to have been giving off all the right signals this morning and, especially, tonight! So why did she reject him? Maybe he'd come on too strong, he thought to himself. But thinking back, she seemed to be really enjoying it. He shuddered with delight a little, as he remembered her soft moans escaping from those luscious lips of hers. Lips that he'd still not gotten the chance to taste.

Elrohir set the book down on the small table next to the armchair, and put his head in his hands while sighing deeply. He was trying to think of a time when he'd wanted someone more! More than the way he wanted Lynwen right now.

Elrohir enjoyed sex, a lot! And he'd never really had any problems in attracting the opposite sex before. And then getting those women into his bed was always such an easy task. It was something that he never really had to work very hard at, as they nearly always volunteered. And Elrohir had never really had any problems in sleeping with these women, and not developing some sort of a relationship with them afterwards. To him, it was just sex, and nothing more.

But these urges he had quickly developed for Lynwen over the past couple of days, felt different. They seemed to go a lot deeper than any urges he had ever felt for any other female in the past.

All, except one, that is. And she was his first, and only love, Raina.

Raina was an elf from Rivendell, who Elrohir fell in love with when he was only around five hundred years old. They had a whirlwind romance that had lasted for quite a few years. And they had even planned to bind themselves to each other. But it all ended with Elrohir's heart almost breaking, as she chose to depart for the Undying Lands, instead.

It was after this relationship with Raina had ended, that Elrohir became the way he was now. Different women going in and out of his bed chambers, and never committing himself to anyone for fear of being hurt again. So why was he now feeling these intense emotions towards Lynwen? Maybe it was the fact that they had a bit of a history, a bit of depth to their relationship, which in turn, may cause his feelings towards her to run a lot more deeply than usual.

He lifted his head up from his hands and stood up from the chair, walking over to his bed. He decided that maybe the best thing to do was to try to get some sleep to help clear his head a little. And hopefully give Lynwen enough time to decide what it was she wanted.

He took off his shirt and breeches, and tossed them untidily on to the armchair. He picked out a pair of sand-coloured leggings from his draw and put them on deciding, as usual, that they were all that were necessary to wear for a comfortable night's sleep.

As he walked over to blow out the candles that were illuminating his room, he heard a little quiet knock on his bedroom door. Knowing how late it was now, he half thought that he may have imagined it. But before he could question himself, the quiet, now rapid, knock sounded again.

"Come in?" Elrohir's answer was a mixture of a command, and a question. A question as to who on Earth could be knocking on his bedroom door at this time of night.

His question was immediately answered when he saw Lynwen hurrying inside his room, taking one last glance up and down the corridor before she quickly closed the door behind her. She was now leaning back against his bedroom door, looking at him as he stood on the opposite side of the room.

He couldn't hide his shocked expression at seeing her, for she was the last person he expected it to be! He could only stand there looking at her, with her looking right back at him.

Her hair looked even messier than usual, but he liked it. He liked the way it chaotically twisted and turned in all sorts of directions, and untidily hung about her face, creating her striking eyes and cheek bones to stand out even more. She was wearing a white, long-sleeved, loose nightdress that went right down to her ankles. It was very unflattering, he thought to himself, but it just made him even more eager to find out what was hidden underneath it.

Lynwen opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again after realising she didn't actually know what she wanted to say. She noticed how Elrohir hadn't moved an inch. He was stood completely still at the opposite end of the room, looking at her intently. It was thrilling to see him the way he looked at this moment, she thought to herself. His jet-black hair was now free from its earlier ponytail, and was now hanging freely around his softly chiselled face, and cascading over his slender, bare, muscular shoulders. Moving her eyes downwards, she hungrily took in his smooth, naked chest that was free of any hair, and his subtlety toned abdomen. Her eyes dropped even lower to his extremely tight leggings, which, she now noticed, were the only item of clothing he was wearing at this moment. She studied how the leggings seemed to cling to every muscle in his legs, some of which, she could see, were slightly flexed. This was probably due to the standing position he'd suddenly frozen himself into. And then, she felt her eyes being drawn to his bulge. With those leggings not leaving much to the imagination, she couldn't help but notice how big it looked! She suddenly felt herself becoming a little scared again as she remembered the feel of it on her behind earlier, realising that it must have been twice the size than it was right now!

"Lynwen?" Elrohir's soft voice broke the silence between them. She brought her head up to make eye-contact with him again.

"Lynwen, what are you doing here?" he gently asked her, after he had gotten no response from her before.

"I... I just wanted to... I needed to... I, I don't know." She finally said, still looking directly into his eyes.

Elrohir dropped his eye contact with her while sighing deeply, his fingers now running through his hair. "Lynwen, I'm sorry again for earlier. I honestly thought it was what you wanted, and I..."

"It is what I want!" Lynwen cut him off mid-sentence. Her sudden, unexpected words, causing Elrohir's head to snap back up to look at her. His expression was a mixture of shock and hope. His eyes now boring right into hers as if he was unsure he'd heard her correctly.

"It is what I want, Elrohir. _You_, are what I want." Lynwen said a bit quieter now, but her voice sounding confident, and very sure.

Elrohir continued to stare at her for a few moments, his expression unchanged, his body unmoved. Lynwen was finding it difficult to work out what it was he was thinking. Or maybe he was just too stunned to think right now! She suddenly started to regret what she had just admitted to him.

Then, without warning, he suddenly strode across the room in only a couple of fast-paced strides, and embraced her in a strong, passionate kiss. The force of which, knocked Lynwen back a little, but Elrohir's firm grip kept her upright. His hands were placed on either side of her head, his fingers tangled in her hair, as they both melted into each other. Their mouths were fighting against one another's for dominance, both of them desperate to finally kiss the other. They broke apart after a few moments, both of them gasping for air.

Elrohir still had his fingers tangled in her hair, as he brought down his forehead to rest against hers, his eyes closed as he rapidly breathed in every essence of her.

"Lynwen?" Elrohir opened his eyes now to look at her, their foreheads still resting against each other. "Are you absolutely certain this is what you want?" He asked her, his breathing still a little ragged.

"More than anything!" she replied softly, a big smile spread across her face.

That was all Elrohir needed to hear. A truly, genuinely happy, smile broke out on his face before he slowly leaned back down to capture her lips with his, once more. He kissed her gently now, one of his hands running through her hair to support the back of her head as she melted backwards. His other hand slowly moved down her arm until he reached her hand, affectionately entwining his fingers with hers.

Elrohir's tongue was now softly pushing against her lips, respectfully asking for entry into her mouth. Lynwen obeyed, immediately opening her mouth for him as his tongue met with hers. Both of them now passionately kissing each other, their hunger for the other very apparent, as their mouths were open, lips firmly pressed up against each other's, and their tongues moving in and out of the other's mouth.

Lynwen brought up her free hand and placed it upon the side of his face, stroking his smooth, silky skin with her fingertips. Her hand then moved up to his ear as she eagerly explored the elven shape of it, gently stroking her finger over the pointed tip.

At Lynwen's gentle caressing of his ear, Elrohir's hands suddenly made their way down to Lynwen's behind unexpectedly, and abruptly, lifting her up, causing her to gasp in her surprise, her legs now wrapped around his waist. Lynwen leaned down to resume their kissing immediately afterwards, Elrohir's left arm holding her up, while his right hand was back up on the side of her face, fingering her tousled hair.

Elrohir turned around and walked them both over to his bed, their lips still not leaving each other. As his knees came into contact with the edge of his bed, he slowly bent forward and lowered Lynwen down onto the cream-coloured, soft cotton sheets, before eagerly crawling on top of her, still kissing her passionately. Using one of his hands to support his weight, he tentatively glided the other down the side of Lynwen's body until he reached the hem of her nightdress, slowly sliding his hand underneath to caress the soft skin of her thigh.

Lynwen shuddered slightly with delight from his tender touch, and began to kiss Elrohir with much more enthusiasm and force.

After a couple of minutes of hungrily kissing each other, Elrohir slowly pulled away from her and sat back on his heels, gazing down at her still lying on the bed. Lynwen could clearly see the lust and desire in his eyes as he stared down at her from his new position above her. But she could also see a look of admiration in those deep grey eyes of his. It sent shivers down her spine as she found herself readily awaiting his next move.

Elrohir, not breaking his eye contact with Lynwen, placed his hands on either side of her legs, and slowly began to push up her nightdress, revealing more and more of her smooth legs to him the further he pushed the hem upwards. As he pushed it up to the tops of her thighs, Lynwen, without having to be instructed or encouraged, lifted her behind up off the bed a little to allow him to push the nightdress even further up her body. He stopped once the hem of the nightdress had reached her stomach, and suddenly found that his penis had grown very quickly at the sight of Lynwen's naked, lower half, lying before him. Her flat stomach, rapidly rising up and down with her erratic breathing, the curve of her hips connected to those smooth, creamy legs of hers. And then, there was what was between her legs. The area that he longed to see the most. He felt his hard shaft throbbing in his leggings as he gazed down at that area, and he gently pushed Lynwen's legs open a bit more so that he could get a better look at her. She was so beautiful, so desirable, and he needed her now!

He quickly reached down to take a hold of the hem, and removed her nightdress completely, slipping it over her head as she sat up slightly to assist him. Her naked form fell back down onto the bed, her perfectly rounded naked breasts momentarily moving with her motion. He lowered himself back down on top of her, tenderly taking the tip of one of her breasts into his mouth, his hard arousal pressed up against the space between her legs. This incited a long, drawn-out moan from Lynwen, as she arched her back off the bed, pushing her breasts into him.

Elrohir couldn't wait any longer. His leggings were now so tight from his erection straining the fabric, that it was almost painful! And so he stood up to promptly remove them, finally freeing his restrained member.

Lynwen couldn't hide her shocked expression at seeing his extremely large elf-hood as it sprang out of the waistband of his leggings. Elrohir noticed her uneasy expression, and glanced down to where she was staring. He couldn't help a slight smile to cross his face as he realised what it was she was looking at.

"It's ok, Lynwen."

She tore her eyes away from his lower half, and met his gaze, her expression still looking a little shocked, and worried.

"Don't be frightened." He leant back down on top of her now, his elbows supporting his weight, and he started to gently stroke her face. "You may feel a slight pain at the start, which is normal for your first time. But very soon afterwards, it will feel highly pleasurable, I promise you." His right hand was now stroking the hair back off her forehead, as he looked into her eyes, affectionately.

Her expression relaxed slightly, as she allowed herself to be kissed by him again. She soon found herself melting from the passionate way his tongue was inserting itself in and out of her mouth, one of his hands now gently kneading her breast. She felt her legs relax, and slowly allowed her knees to fall apart, creating enough room for Elrohir to get closer. She moaned as she felt his now, unrestrained member, touching her intimately.

Elrohir could feel she was ready, and so he re-positioned his hips slightly, and slowly started to make contact. He let out a long deep sigh of relief as the tip of his hard shaft began to enter her, his eyes now closed. But he suddenly felt her tense underneath him, and found that he was unable to enter her further, as if Lynwen was somehow resisting him. He looked back down at her and could see that she had her eyes tightly closed, her face looking a little scared again.

"Lynwen?" He called, quietly.

"Mmmm?" She answered, her eyes still shut tight.

"Lynwen. Look at me." Elrohir demanded softly. He had stopped his attempt to enter her, being much more concerned with her well-being at that moment.

She squinted her eyes open and glanced up at him, and could see that he was looking at her with such concern and worry etched into his face.

"Lynwen. Are you certain this is what you want?"

"Yes!" Her answer was immediate. She knew. She didn't even have to think about it.

Elrohir couldn't help but chuckle a little at her rapid response. He now placed a hand upon the side of her face, gently stroking her skin with his fingers. "Then you're going to have to relax a little if you want us to do this." He placed a gentle kiss on her mouth. "Stop resisting me, baineth (beautiful), and trust me" he breathed against her lips.

Lynwen smiled and nodded her acceptance. She trusted Elrohir more than anyone else in her life. And so she found herself relaxing underneath him.

Elrohir, while placing soft kisses on her neck, could feel the tension leaving her body. So, after a few more moments, he could feel she was ready, once again. He gently started to insert himself into her, never taking his lips off of hers. He could feel that she was now completely relaxed, and so after a couple of gentle thrusts, his shaft finally sank deep inside her, burying itself to the hilt.

Lynwen cried out at this intrusion, and Elrohir knew that it was a cry of pain. And so, still fully sheathed inside her, he remained completely still, not moving an inch, allowing her body to adjust to this new experience. He could feel her incredibly tight inner muscles squeezing him intensely where her body was reacting and adjusting to his size. He closed his eyes while dropping his head, and let out a long, shuddered breath, trying so hard to resist the urge to start thrusting. His hard shaft, aching for movement. But he needed to know that Lynwen was ready before he'd even consider it.

Then, after about a minute, Lynwen's face softened and she outstretched her arms across the bed while arching her back slightly, her head tilting back into the pillows. And Elrohir knew it was his cue to start moving after she then let out a loud, quivering moan, her eyes rolling back into her head until she gently closed them.

Still using his elbows to support his weight, he slowly withdrew his hard shaft to the tip, before tenderly pushing it back in, making Lynwen moan every time he did so. He was relishing in her still very tight, inner muscles gripping his shaft, hard, bringing him very close to the edge. He threw his head back in pure euphoria, deep slow grunts escaping his lips with every pumping action he made.

Lynwen had never felt anything so amazing in all her life. She could never have imagined how good this would feel. Feeling Elrohir, buried deep within her, was truly mind-blowing. She opened her eyes to see that his face was now contorted with the pleasure he was feeling, his eyes firmly closed. His long hair, which was hanging down in front of him almost touching Lynwen's face, was swaying back and forth with every thrust he made. She felt the extremely pleasurable feeling within her suddenly intensify without warning, and found herself fighting it.

Elrohir was so close now. He could feel Lynwen's body reacting, and he knew that she was close too. He opened his eyes to see that hers were closed, and a deep, concentrated expression was upon her face. She appeared to be resisting her climax.

"Lynwen, let go. Join with me and enjoy it." He said through ragged breaths.

She instantly relaxed again. And within seconds, he felt her body begin to shudder, her inner muscles retracting over his erect shaft, quickly bringing him to his own, explosive climax. They both cried out in unison, their bodies instinctively arching backwards in the process. Elrohir embracing her tightly in his arms seconds later, their bodies violently shaking against each other.

They stayed, clinging on to each other, for a few minutes afterwards, allowing themselves to regain their strengths. Elrohir slowly lifted himself up from Lynwen's body, allowing his hands to take his weight, and gazed down at her.

"Are you ok?" He asked her, his voice quite weak.

Lynwen couldn't contain her smile, and even started laughing. "Yes, I'm ok! That was amazing, Ro! "

Elrohir let out a soft laugh at hearing her enthusiasm. That smile of his, causing Lynwen to grab him fiercely, kissing him hard as she flipped him over on his back. The sudden action surprising Elrohir, as he now looked up at her from his new position on the bed, her straddling his hips above him.

"And I plan on doing it again!" She said, before leaning down to tenderly place her lips upon his.


	7. Forgotten Promises

_Some mild sexual references in this chapter. And again, feel free to correct me if the Sindarin is incorrect._

Chapter 7- Forgotten Promises

The morning sunlight was beaming in through the bedroom window, casting bright yellow colours on the bed. Elrohir had been awake for a while, laying on his side, his upper body being supported by his elbow as he rested his head in the palm of his hand. He was staring down at Lynwen who was still asleep, lying on her back next to him. She was still naked after their antics the night before, the blanket covering her up as far as her chest, her freckle-covered shoulders still exposed to him as she lay there with her arms extended above her head. The sunlight was illuminating off of her, causing her skin to glow. He was transfixed by the sight before him, not being able to stop himself smiling as he continued to stare at her.

Lynwen began to stir from her sleep, suddenly aware of the sunlight illuminating the room. She slowly opened her eyes and immediately had to shut them again as she felt as if the bright light had almost blinded her! She removed one of her arms from above her head and placed it across her face, covering her eyes with her forearm. She couldn't prevent the disappointed groan leaving her mouth at the thought that it was morning already, and knowing that she had another mind-numbingly boring day ahead of her with Anira. She felt so tired, feeling as if she hadn't managed to sleep much last night, and rolled over onto her side, pulling the blanket up over her shoulders.

Then, the surprising realisation that she was naked under that blanket, hit her suddenly. Her eyes snapped open, and she unexpectedly saw Elrohir looking down at her from his position next to her, a big grin upon his face.

"Good morning, little one." he said.

It only took a second, but the memories of the night before suddenly came flooding back to Lynwen. She looked around just to make sure she wasn't dreaming, but no, it was definitely Elrohir's bed that she was lying in, naked!

She looked back up at him, blushing a little as she did so.

"Good morning, Ro." she said while trying to pull more of the blanket towards her, to cover herself.

"You weren't so shy last night." he said, grinning at her even more.

This made Lynwen blush even more, but it also made her smile. Smile at the wonderful memories from the night before.

They'd made love a further three times last night, both of them not falling asleep until the early hours. Elrohir had been so slow and so sensual throughout the night, but by the fourth time they did it, he'd gotten a bit more physical. And so she suspected that the first three times had been for her benefit, but that usually, he probably liked it rough! She didn't mind that though. She'd actually found it quite thrilling that last time they did it, when he'd suddenly, without warning, rolled her over and pinned her down on her stomach, taking her quite aggressively from behind.

"You look lost in thought." he said while still staring at her, and now bringing up his free hand to stroke her hair away from her face. "Did you sleep well, little one?"

Lynwen looked up at him again, and then to the hand that was fingering her hair. She suddenly felt a bit awkward and a little embarrassed, fully aware that she was still completely naked under the blanket. "Yes, I did, thank you for asking. And how did you sleep?" She said in an extremely pleasant tone, sounding as if she was addressing a complete stranger, with her perfect manners.

Elrohir couldn't help laughing at her. "Lynwen, you can drop the formalities with me. They're really not necessary after what we got up to last night!" he said, still laughing.

This actually made Lynwen laugh, too, suddenly feeling a little more relaxed in her current situation. This laugh of hers, seemed to do something to Elrohir. His expression changed drastically from the soft, affectionate one it was a few moments ago, to one of pure lust-filled determination. He leaned down suddenly and captured her lips in a forceful kiss. It took Lynwen by surprise, and when his tongue was then begging for entrance into her mouth, she suddenly became very aware that she hadn't had a chance to brush her teeth yet! And now this incredibly sexy guy, was trying to force his tongue into her mouth!

Lynwen pulled away from him, and quickly scrambled out of the bed keeping a firm grip on the blanket, ensuring it was still covering her. But in removing the blanket from the bed, meant she had also removed it from Elrohir, who was now lying on the bed completely stark naked! He didn't seem to care though. He just used his elbow to support his upper body again, and rested his head in his hand, openly exposing himself to her, the earlier grin now back on his face.

"I need to go back to my room." Lynwen said. "Anira will come for me soon, and if she discovers I'm..."

"Forget Anira." Elrohir interrupted her. "You're not going anywhere today, baineth. You're staying right here with me." Elrohir's eyes were now flashing with the usual mischief.

"But... but, I need some of my things." Lynwen said a little panicked. She desperately wanted to be in that bed with him again, but she could only imagine how bad she must have looked, and smelled!

"And I need to shower, and..."

"You can shower here." He had cut her off again. "And maybe I could even join you." Elrohir winked at her and was smiling cheekily, now.

Lynwen couldn't help but to laugh at his naughty suggestion. She loved how he was just laying there completely naked, without a care in the world.

"Tell me what you need, and I'll go and get them for you." he said as he was getting up off the bed and walking over to the armchair, that he'd messily thrown his clothes onto the night before.

He started putting on his breeches when a knock sounded on the bedroom door. Lynwen jumped at the noise, and looked at Elrohir in sheer panic. Elrohir finished buttoning up the front of his breeches and placed his index finger onto his mouth, signalling to Lynwen to keep quiet.

The knock sounded again, followed by Elladan's voice. "Elrohir, I know you're in there. Ada's really annoyed that you didn't show up for breakfast, and he's waiting for us in his study, now."

Lynwen realised at that point that it was obviously later than she had originally thought, and knew that not only had _she_ also missed breakfast, but that Anira had probably already discovered that she wasn't in her bedroom, and was probably looking for her right now.

Elrohir sighed and let his head drop. He clearly wasn't going to be allowed to stick to his original plans of having his wicked way with Lynwen all day long. He gazed up at Lynwen looking incredibly disappointed. She was still stood at the other side of his bed, continuing to hold the blanket around her naked body, and looking anxious.

Then, without warning, Elrohir's bedroom door suddenly opened and in strode Elladan. Lynwen gasped and clung to the blanket even tighter. She noticed how Elrohir didn't seem too surprised by his brother's uninvited entrance, and his expression hadn't actually changed. But instead of looking at her, he was now looking at Elladan.

"Elrohir, why can't you just be on time for once in your life!" Elladan said to him with his back to Lynwen, who he clearly hadn't seen yet. Elrohir just continued to stare at his brother, not even attempting to defend himself. "So which one of your, unfortunate, ladies was it this time who kept you so busy, that you forgot about our meeting with Ada?" Elladan continued.

Elrohir momentarily glanced over Elladan's shoulder to where Lynwen was standing, before bringing his eyes back to his brother's.

Elladan noticed Elrohir's quick glance behind him, and so turned around to see where his brother had looked to. But nothing could have prepared him for what, and _who_, was standing there, clinging onto the blanket, barely covering her, obvious, naked body.

"Lynwen!" Elladan couldn't hide the shock in his voice, and very quickly realised that he shouldn't be looking at her in her current state of undress. "Lynwen, I'm so sorry for intruding on you like this, for I did not know you were here!" Elladan had quickly bowed his head in respect, and being the now, very embarrassed, gentleman that he was, he continued to keep his eyes to the floor, not wanting to make her feel even more uncomfortable than she already looked.

Lynwen just closed her eyes, feeling so bloody embarrassed right now, that she wanted nothing more than for the ground to just swallow her up! She noticed how Elladan seemed just as uncomfortable as she was, and he had even turned a little red.

Elladan turned his head towards Elrohir and looked up at him with a very angry looking expression on his face. "Elrohir! A word, please." he said, as he signalled to the door behind him with his hand.

Elrohir let out a small sigh. "Fine." he said, and started to walk towards his bedroom door, but he looked to Lynwen before he left the room, pointing his finger at her. "You! Don't go anywhere!" he said, sending her a wicked grin.

It amazed Lynwen how, even in this incredibly awkward situation, Elrohir still just didn't seem to give a shit!

Elladan just bowed his head again in respect in her direction, before following Elrohir out of the bedroom and into the corridor.

Once Elladan had firmly shut the bedroom door behind him, he spun around to face Elrohir. "What the hell do you think you're up to?!" Elladan couldn't hide his anger towards his brother. "She's your sister!"

"_Foster _sister, actually. And I'm not up to anything." Elrohir replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

Elrohir's laid back attitude was really beginning to test Elladan's patience. "Elrohir, this is serious! Do you realise what it is that you've done! It's Lynwen. Lynwen!"

"I know who it is, Elladan. I got to see her pretty well, last night!" Elrohir chuckled a little.

"This is all just one big joke to you, isn't it?! She's just, yet, one other notch on your bedpost, isn't she?"

Elrohir's head snapped up to look at his brother, his face now serious. "No, Elladan, you're wrong. I really like her! She's different to all the others."

Elladan could recognise that look in his brother's eyes. He'd seen that same look many years ago when Elrohir had been with Raina. He realised then that his brother was actually quite serious about his declaration. Elladan dropped his head and sighed deeply, suddenly feeling a lot more calm. "Elrohir, you have remembered that she is mortal, haven't you?"

Elrohir looked at his brother, but he didn't say anything. Elladan now looked back up to meet his brother's stare, feeling a little regretful at what he was about to say. "Elrohir, this can only end in heartache. End it now, before it goes any further."

Before Elrohir could answer, they both turned their heads at the sound of the bedroom door opening, and Lynwen stepping out into the corridor wearing her white nightdress.

"Sorry to interrupt you both, but I must be getting back to my bedroom, and to my duties." She bowed her head slightly at Elladan. "Novaer, Elladan (farewell)." Elladan bowed his head in return. She turned to Elrohir. "Na lû e-govaned vîn, Elrohir (until we meet again)."

Elrohir could only nod his head in understanding, before she quickly scurried away down the corridor, his face looking immensely disappointed at her departure. He watched her disappear around the corner, Elladan's words going over and over in his head. He hadn't experienced feelings like this since his relationship with Raina, and he knew it was something that couldn't just be ignored. He turned back to face Elladan.

"Yes Elladan, in answer to your question, I have remembered that she is mortal. But I have no intentions of ending it, either." His face was full of stubborn determination. "But I ask of you, to please keep this a secret. Especially from Ada!"

Elladan could only sigh in disappointment. Disappointment that his brother was on another potential road to heartbreak. He remembered how Elrohir had suffered greatly after Raina had left, and he didn't want to see his brother go through that again. And a future with a mortal? Well, that was just the point. There can never be a future with a mortal, for they always end up dying in the end. And this, he feared, could also be the ending of his brother's life if his relationship with Lynwen was to continue down this road. Whether it be from a broken heart, or from the unthinkable possibility that Elrohir would end up choosing to sacrifice his immortality in favour of living a mortal life, instead. But Elladan knew that once Elrohir had made his mind up on something, it was very rarely possible to convince him to change it.

"Of course I'll keep it a secret." Elladan reluctantly replied. "But do me a favour, please? Just take things slowly, and be sure that this is what you want before it gets too serious, ok?"

Elrohir placed his hand upon his brother's shoulder, and smiled. "You worry too much, muindor (brother)."

"Aye, but you always give me plenty of reasons to worry!" Elladan smiled back at his brother before continuing. "And one more thing, Elrohir. Please don't hurt Lynwen."

This last comment had caused Elrohir's expression to become serious again, now looking at his brother with a questionable expression. But Elladan continued. "I know how elleths and women end up somewhat, heartbroken, after they've had any involvement with you! And I care about Lynwen a lot. And so I ask you, please don't lead her on if this isn't what you truly want."

"You offend me, muindor." Elrohir said, mockingly, placing his hand upon his chest as if he was hurt by Elladan's accusation. "Do you really think I could be capable of such a thing?" He asked in a fake, innocent tone.

"I know so! Your reputation precedes you, Elrohir!" Elladan raised an eyebrow at his brother.

Elrohir burst out laughing, at this. He couldn't deny his brother's words. "Aye, maybe that was me before, Elladan. But not now. I feel Lynwen is something really special, and I truly like her." Elrohir couldn't hide the smile that was creeping on his face. "I actually think that she may have managed to turn me soft!" he said, a sudden surprised expression on his face.

"Aye, soft in the head!" Elladan sarcastically replied while laughing a little, also inciting a chuckle from his brother. Elladan then placed his hand upon Elrohir's shoulder. "Ok muindor, I will trust that you know what you're doing, and I'll leave it at that. Now! For the love of Elbereth, will you please go and get dressed!"

Elrohir couldn't help but to laugh at his brother's impatience, and he looked down at himself to see that he was, in fact, only wearing his breeches and nothing else. He smiled at Elladan and nodded his acceptance, before turning to enter his bedroom.

"And I'll meet you down in Ada's study." Elladan said, before he turned and walked away down the corridor, leaving Elrohir to reluctantly get dressed.

xxx

Later that afternoon, Lynwen had found herself in the kitchens with Anira, where she had been helping to prepare the evening meal for last few hours. Lynwen was standing at the work-top, rolling out some pastry with a rolling pin. She hated everything about these tasks that her father had insisted that she learn. This morning she had been continuing on with her crochet with Anira, then they had moved on to sewing, and now it was cooking. She couldn't deny that she was undoubtedly going to make the picture-perfect housewife one day, but she found it all so mundane. She didn't want to be knitting, dressmaking, sewing, and most of all, she did not want to be rolling out this pastry!

"Anira, it keeps sticking to the work-top every time I try to turn it over! I swear, I'll put it in the bin soon!" Lynwen couldn't contain her rage at this incredibly annoying piece of, now very mangled, pastry in front of her.

"Shh, Lynwen, and calm down. You just need some more flour, that's all. Stay there and I'll run down to the storeroom to fetch some." Anira put down her cooking utensils, and left the kitchen.

Lynwen could feel her rage building. The extreme heat of the kitchen, mixed with this exceedingly boring and frustrating task, was all too much for her to take. She began to repeatedly slam the rolling pin into the wooden surface of the work-top, causing all the glass jars of condiments to shake and clatter together. She knew that she was creating a dent in the wooden surface of the work-top, but she didn't care, it just felt so good to get all her anger and frustration out like this.

She stopped when a hand was firmly placed upon hers from behind, bringing her sudden outburst to an abrupt halt. Before she had a chance to turn around to see who it was, they had brought about their other hand to the left side of her body and placed it upon her left arm, now restraining her firmly in place, preventing her from moving.

"I see you still have that fiery temper of yours." Elrohir whispered against her ear, before he started to place sensual kisses on her neck.

Lynwen felt the anger suddenly leave her body, being immediately replaced by pure lust. She closed her eyes and relaxed back into Elrohir's strong frame, relishing in the feel of his soft lips upon her skin, once again.

Elrohir's right hand relaxed its firm grip on her arm, and now began to undo the top few buttons at the front of Lynwen's dress.

"Ro, what are you doing?! Anira's going to be back any second!"

Elrohir, ignoring the protests from Lynwen, now placed his hand inside her dress, while still sensuously kissing her neck.

Lynwen couldn't help but sigh in contentment. So utterly lost in his touches, that she completely forgot about the rest of the world around her. All that existed in that moment was her and Elrohir, and she didn't care about anything else.

That was until she heard Anira shouting, as she was coming back up the stairs from the storeroom. "Lynwen! I certainly hope that loud banging I heard wasn't you taking your temper out on something! There'll be hell to pay if you've damaged something!"

Lynwen snapped out of her lust-filled daze! "Ro, Anira's coming! You have to go, quickly!"

Elrohir didn't seem too bothered by Anira quickly approaching them, and took his time by slowly bringing his hand out from inside Lynwen's dress, before seductively breathing into her ear, "Make sure that you visit me again tonight, little one. And I'll show you many ways that you can unleash that anger."

And as quickly as he had arrived, he was gone again.

"Lynwen! Why is your dress undone?!" Anira was now entering the kitchen holding a big bag of flour.

"Umm, I.. I was really hot. This kitchen is stifling!" Lynwen wasn't doing a very good job of hiding the fact that she was a little flustered at Elrohir's unexpected appearance.

"Well, it is most inappropriate Lynwen. Do up those buttons at once!"

Lynwen began to do up the buttons while looking out of the kitchen doorway, seeing if she could glimpse Elrohir. But there was no such luck. He was long gone. She was now trying to suppress the smile that was trying to force itself on her face.

"I wouldn't be smiling if I were you! Look at the damage you've done to the work-top, Lynwen! We're going to have to speak to your Ada about that temper of yours. Really Lynwen, it's most un-ladylike to behave in such a manner, and..."

Anira's scolding was just becoming a dull humming noise in the background, her words just droning away into nothing as Lynwen chose to ignore her, and instead found herself thinking about what her next encounter with Elrohir would be like.

Later that evening, after Lynwen and Elrohir had stolen a few glances across the dinner table at each other, which of course didn't go unnoticed by Elladan, they all excused themselves and made their way out of the dining room. As they approached the doorway, Elrohir gave Lynwen a look that she completely understood the meaning of, and subtly nodded in response. They all then went their separate ways, with Elrohir and Lynwen making their way to their bed chambers.

Lynwen rushed inside her room, wanting to get freshened up before going to visit Elrohir, that look he'd given her as they left the dining room, telling her to hurry. And she also needed to collect her toothbrush to take with her so that she would have it ready to use in the morning, hopefully before he woke up! She certainly wasn't going to make that mistake again!

After freshening up a little, she put on the sexiest item of clothing she owned which was a silk, cream-coloured chemise, and covered herself up with her robe before sneaking out of her room. She carefully and quietly crept up the corridor to Elrohir's bedroom, where they spent another entire night of love-making.

xxx

This became a nightly ritual for the pair over the following couple of weeks, with Lynwen always trying to get back into her own bed before sunrise, hoping that Anira would never realise that the bed had never been slept in, when she came to wake her up in the mornings.

But Lynwen was finding it an increasingly difficult task to keep their romance a secret, especially when Elrohir continued to pull his little stints like the one in the kitchen when Anira had gone to get flour. They had had quite a few close calls like that, Elrohir seeming to find them thrilling, but Lynwen couldn't help but feel on edge during these times, always waiting for them to get caught.

But it was when, after one of her nightly visits to Elrohir's bedroom, she was making her way back to her own room when she was startled by the sudden appearance of her father's assistant, Lindir, that she knew their romance was very close to being discovered.

"My Lady Lynwen, is everything alright?" he had asked her suspiciously, looking her up and down, obviously taking note of her inappropriate state of dress.

Lynwen just prayed that he hadn't seen where it was she had just come from. "My Lord Lindir, thank you for your concern, but everything is fine. I had trouble sleeping, is all. So I went outside for some fresh air." She looked at him, hoping he was buying what she was saying.

"Then I will bid you a good morning, my lady." he had said, before walking away from her, throwing her one last glance over his shoulder before disappearing from sight. Lynwen hoped that she had managed to fool him, but knew that she'd have to speak to Elrohir about this 'arrangement' they had, for it was just getting too close to being discovered.

And it would be the following night before they would be alone again, and this is when she had planned to talk to him about this concern of hers. But little did she know, that it would be at the evening meal beforehand, that their whirlwind romance would be brought to an abrupt halt.

"Good evening, my children." Elrond was standing at the head of the table, addressing his children seated before him. "I would like to announce that we will be receiving a visitor to Imladris next week. He was expected to arrive at a later date, but after hearing that that would result in him missing Lynwen's eighteenth birthday party, he sent word that he would like to be present for such a special occasion."

Lynwen's stomach lurched forward, for she knew exactly who her father was referring to. Her romance with Elrohir had completely taken her mind off of that conversation she'd had with her father a couple of weeks previous, and what it was she had agreed to. And she also realised at that moment that she hadn't told anyone about what it was she had agreed to, including Elrohir.

She now looked in Elrohir's direction, a panicked expression upon her face as she anxiously awaited for her father to continue.

"And so, I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you all that this gentleman is visiting here next week, with a view to asking for Lynwen's hand in marriage." Elrond had a big smile on his face as he was speaking.

Lynwen noticed Elrohir's expression change suddenly to one of pure rage. He was still looking at his father, so she suspected his rage was aimed at him, and probably at this unsuspecting gentleman coming to visit.

"And Lynwen has agreed to meet with him." Elrond now gestured in her direction, which caused all of her siblings' heads to turn to look at her. But Lynwen still had her gaze fixed upon Elrohir, and knew the moment that his eyes met with hers, that his rage was now aimed at her.

"So, we all have a lot to get organised! It's only a week until your birthday Lynwen, and we have to make sure everything is perfect for when Lord Éomer arrives!"

Lynwen ignored her father's comment, and continued to look at Elrohir, her eyes pleading with him to give her an opportunity to explain. But it was to no avail. Elrohir abruptly broke his eye contact with her, and stood up from the table suddenly, startling everyone.

"Excuse me Ada, I have other business to attend to." Elrohir said, walking out of the dining room before his father had time to object.

Lynwen sighed to herself, and caught Elladan looking at her before he quickly looked away again. She knew how Elrohir was, and so she knew that she now had a big fight on her hands to make him listen to her.

Her father continued to talk from his position at the head of the table, about what he had planned for her party the following week, but she wasn't listening. Instead she remained deep in thought. It was frustrating her that her father was making such a big fuss about her party the following week, for nobody even knew when her real birthday was! And thinking about Elrohir's reaction to her father's news, made her regret the day she had ever agreed to meet with this man. This, what did Ada say his name was? Lord Éomer?


	8. A Sudden Emptiness

Chapter 8- A Sudden Emptiness

The week that followed was a nightmare. Everyone seemed to be panicking about this Lord Éomer and his entourage coming to visit, all of them running about the place like headless chickens making last minute preparations. Lynwen had hated every second of it! She, of course, had been kept extremely busy as well by being given plenty of tasks to do to help the preparations come along more quickly.

And at this particular moment in time, she was standing on a chair in the Great Hall, trying to reach up to stick one end of a banner to the wall. She was straining her arms to reach up higher, but found that she just wasn't tall enough. She dropped her arms to her sides in defeat, trying to contain her frustration. Frustration that all this fuss was for a birthday party that she didn't even want, and to welcome a man to Imladris that she didn't want to meet. All she really wanted, more than anything, was to be with Elrohir again. But she'd hardly seen him all week. He was clearly avoiding her by disappearing all day long, and he had even stopped showing up to breakfast and evening dinner. Their nightly rendezvous had come to a complete and sudden stop. And so had any other physical or verbal contact between them. The most she had gotten out of him over the last week was an abrupt "Excuse me" when she had been standing in his way one morning. And that was days ago!

She sighed to herself as she was lost in her thoughts, wishing that she hadn't agreed to this meeting a few weeks previous. And she couldn't believe that this Éomer guy was going to be arriving tomorrow! With her birthday party being the day after that! It was all happening so fast!

"Let me help you with that." Elladan's voice startled her from her reverie, and she saw that he was standing next to the chair, looking up at her.

Lynwen smiled affectionately at her brother, stepping down from the chair in the process. "Thank you Elladan." She said, as she handed him the banner.

Elladan climbed up on to the chair and fixed the banner to the wall effortlessly. "There!" He said, as he stepped back a little on the chair and looked at the banner neatly stuck to the wall. "Did you make that?!" He looked down at her at his question.

Lynwen tutted and rolled her eyes. "No. Do you really think that I'd make a banner to wish _myself _a Happy Birthday?!"

Elladan couldn't help but laugh at Lynwen's obvious annoyance. He stepped back down off the chair and stood himself next to her, placing a hand onto her shoulder. "Lynwen, it'll be a joyous celebration. Try to enjoy it."

Lynwen looked up at her brother standing before her. "Elladan, I don't want this. I don't want any of it!" She said as she was gesturing around the rest of the hall that was vastly covered in decorations. "I just find it all highly embarrassing! I mean, I hate any kind of attention. But not only does Ada want to invite the whole of Imladris to an over-the-top celebration for a _fake _birthday, but he also wants to make a spectacle of me by inviting this man along, as well? What? Is Ada hoping for a marriage proposal in front of everyone?! It just makes me cringe, Elladan, all of it!"

Elladan embraced his sister in a gentle hug, resting his head upon the top of hers, while she buried her face in his chest. "Shh, Lynwen. It's ok. You know what Ada is like, he doesn't do anything by half!" He was now stroking the hair at the back of her head, still embracing her in his arms, before he quietly continued. "And I know that this frustration of yours has a lot to do with Elrohir."

Lynwen brought her head away from his chest to look up at him, but she didn't say anything. Instead, while now looking down into her eyes, Elladan continued on. "I truly am sorry that things have ended this way between the two of you, for I know how much you must be hurting. But I do think it's for the best, Lynwen."

Lynwen dropped her arms from Elladan's sides, and pulled away from him, slumping herself down to sit on a nearby chair. Elladan couldn't stop his heart from aching at the sorrowful expression upon her face. He truly loved his brother, but right now, he held nothing but resentment towards him. Resentment towards the way Elrohir's harsh actions were clearly hurting Lynwen so much. Resentment at the way he'd selfishly taken her innocence, and had now abandoned her while he was off sulking somewhere. And resentment that he could very well have ruined Lynwen's chances of finding true happiness with someone else.

He walked over to the chair that Lynwen was sitting in and crouched down next to her, taking a hold of her hands in his. "You have a real chance here, Lynwen. A chance to be happy with someone who can give you a good life, who can take care of you, and most importantly, who can grow old with you. He's the nephew of the King of Rohan! And so you can be assured that you'll be well taken care of, and will live a very prosperous life! "

Lynwen didn't answer him, she didn't even look at him, and continued to stare down at the floor. She knew that what Elladan was saying was logical, but it didn't put a stop to the feelings she was still holding for Elrohir. She wanted to be with him so much, and it was breaking her heart that he was shunning her.

"He won't even look at me, Elladan. I wish he would just give me a chance to explain."

Elladan dropped his head and sighed deeply. He wondered if Lynwen had even listened to what he had just said to her.

"Lynwen, muinthel (sister)," he placed his hands on the sides of her face, "Please forget about Elrohir. He's a very stubborn being, and I hate to say it, but he's even a little selfish too. And I worry that if your relationship reconciles, it will only end in even more anguish. For the both of you! Move on from him, muinthel, and find happiness elsewhere."

She looked at her brother now, hearing his words ringing in her head. She knew he was right, but it wasn't going to be easy for her to move on. The relationship she had had with Elrohir, although had only lasted a couple of weeks, had been intense. Both of them not being able to be without the other for very long, and then completely devouring each other when they were together, each time acting as if they hadn't seen each other for years! It had been the happiest time of her life.

But she reluctantly nodded her head in agreement anyway, hoping that this would satisfy Elladan enough to stop talking about it.

"Very well." Elladan said while giving her a warm smile. "Well, Ada has a lot of things for me to do, as well. It seems that no one is escaping his many tasks today!" He let out a small chuckle at this, and stood up while affectionately tucking a piece of Lynwen's hair behind her ear. "Try to enjoy these next few days, Lynwen. And give this, Lord Éomer, a chance. You just might end up liking him!" He smiled warmly at her before turning around and walked out of the hall, leaving Lynwen alone to her thoughts once again.

But she just couldn't get Elrohir out of her head. She missed his company so much. His touches, their intimate moments together, the laughter they shared... Everything! She missed everything about him!

But she couldn't get the image out of her head of the way his face had looked so full of rage at the dinner table the week before. Rage that had clearly been aimed at her.

She desperately needed to see him to try to explain herself. She'd been too nervous to try to approach him before now, knowing that it was best to leave him be for a while. Plus, he'd been doing a very good job at making himself scarce all week, so she hadn't actually seen him that much. But tonight was her last chance to put things right before this guy was due to arrive tomorrow. She looked to the window, and could see that the sun was ready to set. She had a good idea as to where she might find him. And so she swiftly left the hall, and started to make her way up to the top of the valley.

As she arrived at the top of the valley, she stopped next the little stream that they had always sat next to. But to her immense disappointment, Elrohir was not there. She looked out towards the horizon and could see that the sun had almost completely disappeared from the sky, and so she guessed that he probably wasn't going to be coming. She slumped down on to the ground and brought her knees up to her chest. At this particular moment in time, all she felt like doing, was crying. She felt as if everything she'd ever known was falling into disarray. She looked down at her home below, and wondered for how much longer it would actually be her home. If she ended up marrying this Éomer guy, then she'd have to move away to his homeland, which was Rohan, apparently. And the very thought of it upset her so much. And the pressure that her father was unknowingly putting on her by his expectations of a marriage proposal over the next few days, was suffocating her greatly.

A few weeks ago she still had everything! Her family, her prospects, a bright future to look forward to, and even her innocence! But now? Well now, she just felt so utterly lost. Elrohir had taken care of the loss of her innocence, and had since, seemingly, dropped her like a bad habit. Her father and this Éomer guy had taken care of removing any hopes and wishes she'd had for her future. And well, with Elrohir clearly not wanting anything to do with her anymore, and with her father trying to ship her off to another kingdom, she was well and truly starting to feel like her family were slipping away from her too. She'd never felt so alone and so down as she did at this particular moment. She couldn't control a couple of stray tears to escape her eyes as she angrily wiped them away from her face, continuing to stare out into the distance.

Lynwen stayed up on that valley for most of the night, purposely missing the evening meal due to not being able to deal with any more talk of what was to come over the next couple of days. It was well past midnight when she made her way back down the hillside and to her bed chambers. She crawled into her bed, bringing the blanket up over her head as she curled up into a ball. And for the first time since all those years ago, when she'd watched Elrohir leave for the expedition, Lynwen cried herself to sleep.


	9. Trying to Forget

_**Please Note:** **There is a**_** _chapter before this one! I published Chapter 8 and Chapter 9 at the same time._**

Chapter 9 - Trying to Forget

Lynwen was woken up the following morning by the gentle voice of her sister, Arwen. "Lynwen? Lynwen, wake up."

Lynwen slowly opened her eyes to see Arwen sat on the edge of her bed, a soothing smile upon her face.

"What time is it?" Lynwen lazily asked.

"Time for you to get ready!" Arwen was smiling broadly at her now.

Lynwen sat up in her bed and rested back against the headboard. She really didn't feel like she had the energy to leave that bed today. And she knew that Arwen was here to help her to get ready to meet Lord Éomer, for he was due to be arriving today. Lynwen sighed heavily. She really didn't want to go through with this meeting.

"What's wrong, muinthel (sister)?" Arwen had rested her hand upon Lynwen's knee as she spoke to her.

"Arwen, I don't think I can do this. What if I don't like him? Or he doesn't like me? The expectations of everyone as to where this meeting could end up, is truly suffocating me! Maybe I'll be lucky, and he won't turn up!" Lynwen said suddenly, her eyes wide and full of hope.

"No such luck, muinthel, for he is already here!"

Arwen's words caused Lynwen's head to snap up to look at her sister, her eyes wide with shock. "What?! When?!"

Arwen laughed a little at Lynwen's startled expression. "He arrived about an hour ago. We received word that he and his company had hit the borders of Imladris early this morning, and so some of the border guards went out to guide them the rest of the way here."

"Have you met him?" Lynwen couldn't hide her curiosity.

"Yes, and he's very handsome!" Arwen gave Lynwen a subtle wink. "And he and his company have been escorted to their rooms to rest for the remainder of the morning, and we will all meet for lunch a little later on."

Lynwen was a little stunned. She wasn't expecting him to be here so early. She'd even half hoped that he wouldn't come at all, hoping that Imladris was too well hidden for him to be able to find it.

"Lynwen, you must get out of bed now. I'll help you to get ready after you've showered." Arwen then made her way over to Lynwen's wardrobe, sifting through the dresses that were hanging up in there. "Ah, yes, this one will be perfect!" Arwen said as she pulled out a short-sleeved, ankle-length, cream coloured dress that had a delicate gold belt around the waist. She then noticed that Lynwen was still sat on her bed, her knees pulled up to her chest as she was staring into space. Arwen draped the dress over the back of a chair, and sat back on the bed taking a hold of her sister's hands.

"Lynwen. I wish I could take this sorrow that you're feeling, away from you." Arwen sighed a little. "But, unfortunately I can't." She continued to hold her sister's hands in her own, stroking the back of Lynwen's fingers with her thumbs, before she softly spoke again. "Lynwen, let Elrohir go."

Lynwen's eyes met her sister's at this last comment, shock clearly written all over her face. "You know?!" Lynwen asked in disbelief.

Arwen tenderly smiled at her sister. "Of course I know. There's not much that I miss." Arwen was still smiling at her sister. "Plus, the two of you weren't able to take your eyes off each other!" Arwen laughed a little at this.

Lynwen was horrified. Had their romance really been that obvious to everyone? She thought that only Elladan knew, and that was bad enough! Now Arwen?! And who else?! She suddenly felt panicked. "Does anyone else know?!"

"I don't think so." Arwen said, tying to sound reassuring.

A short silence fell between the two of them, with Lynwen looking out towards the window. She wished she could stop this aching in her heart. She felt so empty without Elrohir in her life.

"I miss him so much, Arwen." Lynwen said quietly, her empty stare looking off into the distance. "He's always been an important figure in my life, and now..." Lynwen looked down to her knees that were still brought up against her chest. "...and now, he won't have anything to do with me."

Arwen placed her finger under Lynwen's chin, raising her face to look at her. "Lynwen, Elrohir loves you dearly, for that I'm certain. But you know very well how stubborn he is. He's my brother and I love him very much, but I don't want you to waste any more of your precious time pining after him, for I fear he could keep you waiting for a very long time."

Lynwen nodded slightly at this, for she knew Arwen's words were true. Elrohir was unpredictable, and extremely stubborn. She could very well be waiting for an unthinkable amount of time before he would even begin talking to her again. She knew she had to try and forget about him, which was going to be extremely difficult, but she had to at least try. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, readying herself for the day ahead.

"Come now. Out of that bed and into the shower." Arwen stood up from the bed walking over to the drawers, pulling out a towel. "Today is the first day of the rest of your life, Lynwen!" she said, smiling happily at her sister.

xxx

Unfortunately, lunchtime had arrived. Lynwen's stomach was turning at the thought that she was only minutes away from meeting Éomer. She stood in front of her vanity table, looking into the mirror. She knew she couldn't stall this any longer. It was time to leave and head down to the dining room. She wondered who would be there. Would it be a personal affair, or was the entire family going to be present for this? Was Elrohir going to be there?!

"Lynwen?" Arwen snapped her out of her daydreaming. "Lynwen, it's time to go."

Lynwen continued to stare into the mirror a few moments more. Arwen had actually done quite a good job with her hair! she thought to herself. It actually looked quite presentable. "It looks quite pretty, Arwen. My hair, I mean." Lynwen said with surprise in her voice. "You've managed to achieve the impossible! You should be proud." Lynwen said, smiling, as she turned her head to look at her sister.

Arwen smiled back at her, and then gestured to the door with her hand, signalling to Lynwen that they had to go. Lynwen took a deep breath, and started to walk towards the door.

"Just be yourself, Lynwen, and all will be well." Arwen said, before they both left the bedroom, and made their way to the dining room.

xxx

Éomer was sitting at the dining table, his advisor, Alric, sitting in the seat next to him. Éomer was nervously tapping his feet on the floor, and his hands on the table, jumping every time the dining room door opened.

"Calm down, Éomer. People are staring." Alric muttered to Éomer quietly, hoping no one would hear.

"I can't, Alric, I'm too nervous." Éomer looked up from the dining table to see that the few elves that were milling about the place, were in fact looking in his direction. "Is this really such a good idea? I mean, finding a bride in an _elven _kingdom? I don't know why a meeting couldn't have been arranged with a normal human girl, from a normal _human _kingdom!" Éomer whispered to Alric.

The older man just sighed at Éomer's protest. "Éomer, this Lynwen, _is _human. You know this! And your uncle thought this would be the perfect opportunity to try to re-strengthen a long-lost relationship between men and elves. This marriage could do wonders for our race!" Alric then rubbed his hand across his forehead and closed his eyes. His face showing tiredness and a little frustration. "Éomer, we've talked about all of this many times..."

"I know, but I just don't like the way these elves keep staring at me!" Éomer whispered to his advisor.

"Well if you stop attracting attention to yourself, then they won't stare." Alric said as he firmly landed his hands onto Éomer's, stopping him from tapping them on the table any longer.

Elrond was stood on the other side of the dining room with Elladan, Estel, and Lindir. "Where is she? What's taking them so long?" he was looking to the dining room door, and appearing just as anxious as Éomer. "And come to think of it. Where is your brother?" He looked to Elladan and Estel at this question.

Elladan sighed, "You know Elrohir, Ada. He's always in a different place to where you actually need him to be." But Elladan knew, of course, the true reason as to why Elrohir was keeping himself scarce. And secretly, Elladan was truly grateful that his brother was choosing to stay away, for he feared what Elrohir may do to this Éomer if he _was _here!

"Yes, but I think it's rather strange that he seems to have been disappearing ever since I announced at dinner last week, that a potential husband for Lynwen was to be visiting. Don't you think so, Elladan?" Elrond turned his head towards Elladan at this last comment, his face completely placid and difficult to read. He continued to stare at Elladan, obviously awaiting a response.

Elladan didn't like the way his father was looking at him. It was like he wasn't really asking for his opinion on the matter, but rather a confirmation as to something he suspected, or even knew. Oh Valar! did he know about Elrohir and Lynwen?! Elladan mentally shook his head. No, no of course he doesn't know. How could he? Elladan felt himself getting a little uncomfortable under his father's stare, and knew that he had to answer.

"Umm, I don't know Ada. Like I said, You know Elrohir. He's always disappearing at the worst possible times. I actually don't think it's that strange that he's not here!" Elladan let out a nervous laugh after he finished his sentence, knowing that he was doing such a bad job at lying to his father.

Elrond didn't take his eyes from Elladan for a good few moments after. His expression still placid, serious, and completely unreadable. And Elladan thanked the Valar when Lynwen and Arwen finally entered the dining room, causing his father to break his stare from him and look towards the girls instead.

Elrond walked over to Lynwen and took a hold of her hand. "You look lovely, iell nin (my daughter)." he said with an affectionate smile on his face. "Lord Éomer is anxiously awaiting to meet you. He seems rather nervous, actually." Elrond continued to smile at Lynwen before leading her over to the dining table.

Éomer and Alric immediately stood up from their seats as they saw Elrond walking towards them with, who they presumed was, Lynwen.

"My Lord Éomer, I'd like to introduce to you my daughter, Lynwen."

Éomer gently took a hold of Lynwen's hand and bowed his head. "A pleasure to meet you, my lady."

Lynwen observed the man stood before her. She noted how he was much younger than she had expected him to be, probably not being much older than she was. He was tall, around 6 foot, or so. His hair was a light, golden brown colour, which came down to the base of his shoulders, and was slightly wavy. She noticed he had slight stubble on his face, giving him a dark shadow of a beard. Seeing facial hair was still something she found so strange to see, with her brother Estel being the only person she'd ever seen with a beard until now. Elves only ever had hair on their head, and that was it! Even she had more hair on her body than the male elves did!

"Lynwen?"

Elrond's call of her name startled her from her thoughts. She re-focused on to Éomer who had since let go of her hand, and was now looking at her expectantly. "My apologies my lord. It's a pleasure to meet you too." Lynwen curtsied as she said this before standing back up to look at him, with Éomer giving her a warm smile in return. Arwen was right. He was handsome! And he did seem just as nervous about this whole thing as she was, which helped Lynwen to relax a little more.

"Take a seat over here, Lynwen." Elrond signalled to the chair that was opposite to Éomer's. Lynwen walked over to her chair and sat down, noticing that Éomer remained standing, only taking his seat after Lynwen had.

Sat to Lynwen's left was her father, who was sat at the head of the table, and to her right was Arwen, with Alric sitting opposite to her. Sat next to Arwen, was Estel, with Elladan sitting directly opposite him. She glanced up to catch Éomer looking at her, before he coyly smiled and quickly looked down again, looking a little embarrassed as he did so. She couldn't help but smile as well. He really was as nervous as her, which was a huge relief for Lynwen and it helped her to calm a little more.

Lunch lasted around an hour, and was a very formal affair. Elrond and Alric did most of the talking, with the others inputting a comment here and there, and Lynwen and Éomer almost remaining silent throughout.

Lynwen was glad when they all finally excused themselves from the table. Although Éomer had seemed rather pleasant throughout, her head and her heart were still not completely in this. There was only one person she wanted to be in the company of right now, and he was currently nowhere to be found. She realised at that point that the last time she had seen Elrohir was a number of days ago! He hadn't been showing up to any of the meals, and she hadn't seen him on top of the valley, either. She wondered if he was even still in Rivendell!

"It was a pleasure to meet you, my lady." Éomer interrupted Lynwen's thoughts. "And I hope to see you again at dinner this evening?" There was a question in his statement, and he looked a little apprehensive as he waited for her answer.

"Yes, of course we'll meet again this evening. And it was a pleasure to meet you too, my lord." Lynwen offered him a smile, before she made her way out of the dining room with Arwen, leaving the males inside.

"So?" Arwen said to her as they made their way up the open-air corridors. "What do you think?"

Lynwen smiled half-heartedly, before giving her feeble reply. "Yes, he seems very pleasant."

"And didn't I tell you he was very handsome!" Arwen nudged Lynwen with her elbow as she said this, a cheeky smirk upon her face.

Lynwen laughed a little at her sister's actions. "Yes, he is, you were right." But Lynwen's smile faded quickly, and her mind began to drift elsewhere once again.

"Just give it time, muinthel." Arwen had taken a hold of Lynwen's hand now, and was smiling at her with an understanding in her expression.

Lynwen knew what, and who, her sister was referring to. She nodded in response to Arwen, but secretly she was pining after Elrohir even more now than she had been before. She just wished she could see him again. She wished she even knew where he was!

"If you don't mind, Arwen, I'd like to take a walk alone for a while. I just need to clear my head a little before dinner this evening."

Arwen nodded her understanding and smiled warmly at her sister. "Ok muinthel, I'll see you in a couple of hours to help you get dressed for dinner." she said, before placing a kiss upon her sister's cheek and walking away into the main residences.

Lynwen took a deep breath, and closed her eyes while turning her face towards the warm Spring sun, allowing it to warm her skin. Where could he be? She thought to herself. She slowly opened her eyes again, and exhaled loudly. She needed him now more than ever! She needed his friendship, his laughter, his affectionate touches... She took another deep breath, and suddenly started walking down the stone steps and into the gardens below, deciding to head for the stables.

As she stepped into the stables, she was disappointed to see that Elrohir's horse was missing. She went in search of one of the stable hands to see if they knew where Elrohir had gone to. She stepped out into the courtyard and came across Glandur, one of the younger stable-hands, sweeping up some mud and dirt from the cobbled stone walkway.

"Glandur, have you seen Elrohir? I've noticed his horse is missing."

Glandur was quite a nervous elf, what with him being so young and inexperienced compared to all the others, and he tended to stutter a little when he talked. "M m my Lady Lynwen. Wha wha what a pleasure to see you. I'm afraid I have not seen Lord Elrohir since he took his horse, around five days ago."

"Five days!? Did he say where he was going, Glandur?"

"I I I'm afraid not, my lady. He actually didn't say anything at all, n n now I come to think of it." Glandur smiled nervously.

Lynwen sighed a little and looked around her in different directions, as if trying to work out where or what to do next. It seemed Elrohir had no intentions of being found. Who knew where he had gone to, and even if he was going to come back any time soon. Lynwen turned back around to Glandur, who was still looking at her a little nervously. "How did he seem when he left?" She asked him quietly.

"Umm, h h he seemed a little pensive, maybe even a little angry..." Glandur's sentence trailed off, as if he wasn't sure whether he should be speculating such things about Elrohir.

Lynwen noticed how uneasy Glandur was feeling by the way he was nervously fiddling with the sweeping brush, and seeming unsure as to whether he should be smiling or not. She felt bad for putting him in such a position, and decided to leave the poor ellon alone. "Le fael, Glandur." She said with a slight bow of her head, and turned away to make her way back to the house.

xxx

Dinner that evening was actually quite a pleasant affair. Lynwen had been feeling quite bitter and angry after discovering that Elrohir had just taken off like that without a second thought for her, and so she made a point of making an extra special effort with Éomer. It was her way of trying to convince herself that she had moved on from Elrohir, but she felt kind of bad that she was using poor Éomer to help her forget about her estranged lover. But she couldn't help it. She needed a distraction, and it seemed Éomer was just that!

Dinner was with the same people that had been at lunch, and they had all taken the exact same seating positions they had been in that afternoon. After the dinner had finished, they all made their way to the top end of the dining room near the double doors that opened out on to the terrace in the gardens.

Lynwen had managed to smuggle some of the wine that had been served to the others at the dinner table, and signalled for Éomer to follow her outside. He smiled his response at her, and swiftly followed her out of the double doors and onto the terrace. She led him down the couple of stone steps from the terrace, and into the gardens below. Éomer was stunned by the beauty that surrounded him. The moon was now high up in the sky and was casting its eerie silver glow over the trees and plants that now surrounded them. Lynwen stopped once they were underneath the branches of a tree, and sat down on the ground below, leaning her back against the trunk. She looked up at Éomer, who she noticed was still standing there looking unsure as to what he should do.

"Sit down!" Lynwen tapped her hand on the ground next to her, signalling for him to take a place beside her.

Éomer lowered himself down on the ground and brought his knees up to his chest, but continued to stare awkwardly out in to the distance, not saying a word.

"How old are you?" Lynwen broke the awkward silence with her blunt question.

Éomer turned his head to face her, still looking a little anxious. "I am in my nineteenth year, my lady." He said a little nervously, while smiling a little awkwardly.

Lynwen nodded her response before reaching down the front of her dress to reveal the bottle of wine that she had sneaked out from the dinner table. She then held it up in front of his face, a big grin upon hers.

"My Lady Lynwen! Did you steal that? We could get in big trouble!" Éomer's eyes were wide with panic, but also with a little excitement.

"Yes I stole it!" Lynwen answered abruptly, still grinning widely. "And I intend on drinking it too! Will you not join me?" Lynwen took a swig from the bottle before holding it out for Éomer to take. His face also broke out into a big smile and he took the bottle from her immediately, taking a swig from it himself.

"I have to say, my lady, I'm quite surprised by your actions." He said while turning back to look at her, "But _pleasantly _surprised, I must add." A warm smile now breaking out across his face as he said this. He continued to gaze at her for a few moments before he continued on. "Before I arrived at Rivendell, I was actually expecting to be introduced to a very placid, and maybe even a very dull woman. But you, My Lady Lynwen, are anything but!" Éomer started laughing a little now as he spoke to her.

Lynwen laughed at this as well, realising that this Éomer wasn't actually that bad. "Yes, I'm afraid that if you were expecting your typical run of the mill Lady, who enjoys sewing, cooking and cleaning, then you're going to be immensely disappointed!" Lynwen smirked at him. "Oh, and please stop addressing me as 'Lady'. My name is simply Lynwen, and I'd much prefer it if you addressed me as such." Lynwen said while taking the bottle that he'd offered back to her, quickly taking another swig. She now brought up one of her knees and leant her arm across it while leaning her head back against the tree.

Éomer just couldn't take his eyes off her. He loved the way she was sitting there in such a 'manly' manner, without a care in the world for rules and regulations. She truly was a breath of fresh air.

"Ok, _simply _Lynwen." Éomer said sarcastically, which incited a little laugh from Lynwen. "I can assure you that I'm not in the slightest way disappointed that you are not like any other woman I've met before. And I actually find it hugely refreshing to be in your company!"

Lynwen turned her head to look at him now, and he noticed how the moonlight was reflecting off her eyes, causing them to sparkle slightly. He hadn't really noticed when he'd first met her this afternoon, but he could see now that she truly was rather beautiful. He took a deep breath before he continued on.

"And I truly believe now, that my time here in Rivendell is going to be an extremely memorable experience for me." Éomer couldn't break the smile that was etched on to his face, while he continued to gaze at Lynwen.

But little did Éomer know, that his time in Rivendell was going to be an extremely memorable experience for all the wrong reasons.


	10. A Sudden Crossroads

_**Just another reminder that Chapter 8 was uploaded at the same time as Chapter 9. There seems to be a bit of confusion and so, Chapter 8 appears to be getting overlooked by many readers. So please ensure that you've all read Chapter 8 to avoid any confusion with the storyline. :) Ok, so here is Chapter 10, and thanks again to all who are reading this!**_

_**Also, writingNOOB made a good point about there being no mention of Legolas yet. But rest assured all you Legolas fans, he will be the other love interest, and he will have a big part to play in this story!**_

Chapter 10 - A Sudden Crossroads

Lynwen reluctantly opened her eyes the following morning as the bright sunlight was beaming in through her bedroom window, shining brightly in her face. She felt awful! She reached up her hands and held her head as she let out a long groan. Her head was banging! Her and Éomer had managed to polish off a further three bottles of wine the night before. But now Lynwen was deeply regretting breaking into the wine cellars with Éomer after they had finished that first bottle, her head now feeling like a bucket of frogs!

She suddenly, without warning, had the urge to be sick! She threw back the covers on her bed and ran for her bathroom, only just making in time to the toilet where she violently projectile vomited into the basin. This only made her intense headache even worse, and so she proceeded to be sick down the toilet while clinging onto her head in her attempt to stop the pain. In between the retching, she was groaning loudly, cursing herself for drinking so much wine the night before.

"Aah, I see I have found the culprit who broke into the wine cellar last night."

Lynwen felt too ill to bring her head around to look at the person who spoke behind her, but she recognised the voice as that of her father. All Lynwen could muster was a low drawn out groan before she began to retch again, the mere mention of the word "wine" causing her to do this.

"Well, I came here to wish my daughter a Happy 18th Birthday, but I can see that you are somewhat, indisposed, at the moment. And so I will leave you to continue on with your repercussions of your foolish behaviour from last night, and I will look forward to seeing you at your party this evening."

With that, Elrond left the ensuite bathroom and made his way out of Lynwen's bedroom. Lynwen sighed heavily after hearing her bedroom door close with her father's swift exit from her chambers, and slumped down on the bathroom floor, her hands still clinging to the toilet. In her hungover daze, she'd completely forgotten that it was her birthday, and couldn't believe that she now had to find some sort of energy from somewhere to try and face this dreaded party this evening.

After having nothing left inside her to vomit, Lynwen made her way back to her bed, bringing the blanket over her head, thinking to herself that she must be dying!

She'd been allowed to take a few sips of wine here and there in the past after she'd wanted to know what it tasted like, but she'd never gotten drunk before. And she made a promise to herself there and then, that she was never going to drink another drop of alcohol again! She closed her eyes, and managed to drift back off to sleep.

She didn't know how long she'd been sleeping for, when a loud knock sounded on her bedroom door. She slowly opened her eyes before the knock sounded again. "Who is it?" She shouted towards the door, surprised at how much better her head felt.

"Tis your brothers." They shouted back through the bedroom door.

Lynwen panicked at their response. Does that include Elrohir? "Come in!" She shouted, still in her lying position on her bed.

Her bedroom door opened and in walked Elladan and Estel. But no Elrohir. Of course there's no Elrohir, she thought to herself. Why would he take the trouble to come back from wherever he was, to wish her a Happy 18th Birthday?! She suddenly felt her anger and resentment towards Elrohir escalating at this thought.

"Oh Valar!" Was Elladan's comment as he looked at Lynwen. "I don't mean to offend you, muinthel, but you look like death!"

Estel only laughed as he made his way over to Lynwen's side before sitting himself down on her bed. His dark brown, shoulder length hair, waving messily around his face. His smile lighting up his features, and making his blue eyes shine brightly. "Yes, we suspected it was you who had broken into the wine cellar. And looking at you now, I can see that our suspicions were correct." Estel said, and continued to laugh at his comment while looking down at Lynwen.

Lynwen couldn't help but laugh a little too. She loved how Estel always seemed to see the funny side to these sort of things.

"Well we actually came here to wish you a Happy 18th Birthday! But it looks like you started the celebrations a little early!" Estel said, chuckling again.

"Lynwen! You're green!" Arwen had walked into the room now, and stood herself next to Elladan at the foot of the bed. "Is she supposed to be green?!" Arwen was frantically looking back and forth between Elladan and Estel for an answer.

Estel laughed again at Arwen's words, and placed his hand upon Lynwen's arm. "Aye, that's what happens when you consume an amount of wine that even a Mirkwood Elf would find impressive!" He continued to laugh.

"Estel this isn't funny!" Arwen said in a panic, which incited a little snigger from Elladan. Arwen elbowed her brother standing next to her to silence him, before she continued. "Well you're going to have to get up Lynwen, because you need to get ready for your party!"

Lynwen just groaned and buried her face back in to the pillows.

"Ok, well we'll leave you ladies to it, and we'll see you later, Lynwen." Elladan smiled at his sisters, and he and Estel made their way out of the bedroom. But not before Estel subtly brushed his fingers against Arwen's, quickly glancing at her lovingly, as he did so.

xxx

A few hours later, Arwen stood back and looked at her younger sister who was standing in front of her. "You look so beautiful, muinthel!" She said with a big smile upon her face.

Lynwen turned around to look at herself in her mirror. She had to admit, although she hated the things with a vengeance, the dress she was wearing was actually very beautiful. It was a burgundy coloured silk dress, that hugged at her body quite tightly, but flowed freely from her hips, down. It had a very wide neckline that fully exposed her shoulders, with black beading around the edge. The black beading was also evident at the middle of the dress, as it wound around the waist, creating a belt-like image. Arwen and pinned Lynwen's hair up in segments, creating a kind of messy up-style, that allowed some wavy strands to still hang freely down her neck and around her face.

"And for the final touch." Arwen said as she reached down to pick something up. "This will go on your head, like this." Arwen had placed a thin silver circlet upon Lynwen's head, her hair waving around it so natuarally, that it almost looked like it was a part of her.

"Happy Birthday, my dear Lynwen." Arwen said, as she gently embraced her sister. "Now, let's go. You wouldn't want to be late for your own party!"

xxx

Éomer was already in the Grand Hall for the party, along with most of Rivendell, it seemed. And he couldn't stop feeling ill and wanting to vomit all over again, every time he caught a glimpse of someone drinking wine. He'd also been really hungover that day, spending the entire afternoon in bed, in-between being sick. But he smiled to himself now as he thought back to the night before. It had been a really joyous night. Lynwen, he discovered, was not at all like the other women he knew. He found her incredibly daring and exciting, and he even chuckled to himself as he remembered how she had broken into the wine cellars, her skirts getting caught on the wood of the window frame as she was clambering, rather clumsily, through the window of the cellars, followed by the loud bang where she'd finally broken in, but had obviously fallen in her tipsy state, onto the floor.

He was really looking forward to seeing her again. And when the doors to the Grand Hall opened, and he saw Lynwen walking in looking incredibly beautiful, he knew then that he was completely and utterly smitten with this woman, and that he wanted no other.

He started to get nervous as they made eye contact with each other and Lynwen started to make her way across the hall towards him.

"Happy Birthday, Lynwen." Éomer bowed his head as she had approached him. He then lifted his head up to look at her again. "May I say that you look incredibly beautiful tonight."

Lynwen actually blushed a little at his words, and gently punched him at the top of his arm. "Shut up, Éomer!" She said, laughing a little nervously.

Éomer could only smile affectionately at her reaction as he continued to look at her, rubbing his arm in the process. For someone so small, he was surprised at how hard she could punch.

"This all looks very nice." Éomer finally said, as he looked around at the decorations that adorned the Great Hall. "You must be very well thought of!"

Lynwen just rolled her eyes. "My father enjoys making a big deal out of most things! I bet half of the people here would much rather be elsewhere at this moment." Lynwen said as she looked around at the many guests that were milling about the place.

xxx

As the night wore on, things started to pick up a bit. The music was playing loudly, the floor was full of people dancing, and above the music was the sound of laughter and chatting. It seemed that everyone was actually having a nice time. Lynwen had been dancing with Éomer for most of the night, grateful that he was helping her to stop thinking of Elrohir for a little while. She had noticed very early on in the evening that Elrohir was not there, and it pained her greatly to think that her best friend, and lover, hadn't bothered to show up for her special night.

She was broken from her recurring thoughts, by Éomer taking a hold of her hand and asking her to follow him outside. Lynwen nodded and began to follow him across the hall, and out through the glass doors that led into the gardens. Lynwen was feeling a little nervous by Éomer's bold actions, and started to dread what it was he wanted to talk about.

Éomer suddenly stopped walking once they were far into the gardens, well away from the main buildings of Rivendell. He turned around to face her, looking incredibly scared, and he took a hold of her hands in his while taking a deep breath.

"Lynwen." Éomer took another deep breath while looking down at their hands entwined together. "You've truly managed to capture my heart over these last two days." He brought his head up now to look at her, his eyes giving away just how nervous he was. "Lynwen, I... I know this may seem rushed, but it just feels so right." His grip on her hands had unknowingly tightened a little now, while he took another long deep breath, his eyes never breaking contact with hers "Will you do me the great honour of becoming my wife?" He looked at her expectantly, his eyes a little wide as he awaited her answer.

Lynwen couldn't prevent her mouth from dropping open in shock. She was not expecting a marriage proposal so soon! She didn't answer him for quite some time as she was trying to sift through the millions of thoughts that were running through her head at that moment. Elladan and Arwen's words were ringing in her mind, reminding her that this was the logical thing to do. To marry a fellow human made sense! And especially someone of his status. In her head she knew that to marry Éomer was the right path for her. But her heart was saying otherwise. Her heart was still holding out for Elrohir, aching every time she thought of his absence. She hated him for what he was doing to her, the hold that he still had over her, and she wished that she could just let him go! Should she say no to Éomer in the hope that Elrohir may come back to her? Or should she face the fact that there probably wasn't anything left here for her anymore, and so accept Éomer's proposal and leave for Rohan?

She was brought back from her thoughts by Éomer letting go of her hands and dropping his head to look at the floor. "I'm sorry Lynwen, it's too soon to ask such a thing. I don't know what I was thinking. Please accept my sincerest apologies, and..."

"Yes!" Lynwen couldn't believe the word that came out of her mouth. It just seemed to come out of its own accord, and she couldn't stop it! But she couldn't go back on it now. Éomer's head had snapped back up to look at her, shock written all over his face. But there was also a look of sheer and utter happiness in his eyes, and it broke her heart to see him looking so relieved at her acceptance of his proposal, that she knew she had to go along with this now.

"Lynwen, are you sure?" Éomer asked her, still looking shocked.

Lynwen thought for another moment, and knew that although her heart wasn't in this, her head was telling her that this was the sensible thing to do. And who knew? Maybe given enough time, her heart would allow her to let go of Elrohir and she could even begin to love Éomer. Yes, this was the only chance she was going to be given to help her move on. She needed to do this.

Lynwen brought her eyes back up to look at him, and smiled softly before she spoke. "Yes, Éomer. I'm sure."

Éomer's face broke out into a huge smile before he embraced Lynwen tightly and spun her around while they both laughed, before gently placing her feet back on the ground. After their laughter had died down, they continued to look at each other. Lynwen, feeling a little embarrassed by the intense moment, quickly looked away and down at the ground. Éomer still kept his gaze firmly fixed upon her, and smiled a little at her sudden shyness. He stepped forward so that he was now standing directly in front of her, their bodies almost touching. He brought up his hand and delicately placed it upon the side of her face, which forced Lynwen to look back up at him again. He slowly leant down towards her, and softly placed his lips upon hers. Lynwen felt herself stiffen a little at this, almost feeling like she was cheating on Elrohir. But she mentally shook herself. No, Elrohir has made his choice, she thought to herself, he made that clear when he took off five days ago!

And so, Lynwen allowed herself to relax into the kiss a little, but still kept her hands firmly at her sides even though Éomer now had both of his hands placed on the sides of her head.

The kiss was very gentle, and even a bit reserved, she thought to herself. But then again, the only person she could compare Éomer to, was Elrohir. And Elrohir had proven himself to be a very passionate being over the last few weeks, always enjoying their intimate moments when they were a little more rough with each other.

And after only a few moments, Éomer slowly pulled away his mouth from hers, but still kept his hands positioned at the sides of her head. He opened his eyes to look at her, and smiled affectionately as she looked back at him.

"You've made me a very happy man, Lynwen." He said, his face still very close to hers.

Lynwen could only bring herself to smile in response, before breaking their eye contact once again. Éomer dropped his hands from her head, and took a hold of one of her hands before he spoke again. "Maybe we should head back to the party to tell everyone the news!" He said, still smiling radiantly.

Lynwen suddenly felt panicked by his suggestion. A part of her was still having second thoughts about all of this, and she knew that once they had announced it to everyone, then that pretty much made it final.

But before she could protest, Éomer was dragging her through the gardens and back towards the main buildings. And within no time at all, they were walking back through the glass doors into the Grand Hall. Elrond noticed immediately the pair re-entering the hall, and could see that they were holding hands. He looked back up to see that Éomer had a huge smile on his face, and he wondered if they had good news to tell. Elrond quickly made his way across the hall towards them, and couldn't stop the smile that was making its way across his face. He stopped in front of the pair and looked at them expectantly.

"Where have you two been?" Elrond was looking back and forth between them, awaiting the news that he suspected he was going to hear.

Before Lynwen had a chance to reply, Éomer spoke up quickly and excitedly. "My Lord Elrond. Your wonderful daughter has just agreed to marry me!" Éomer couldn't hide the joy in his voice as he looked down at Lynwen.

Elrond's smile grew even wider, before he laughed happily, embracing Lynwen tightly in his arms. As he pulled away from her, he gave her a kiss on the cheek before he spoke. "You have made your very old Ada, a very happy ellon!"

Lynwen just smiled sheepishly, suddenly feeling incredibly suffocated.

Elrond then turned to face Éomer and shook his hand while placing his free hand onto his shoulder. "I trust you will take good care of her?" Elrond's face had become a bit more sterner as he said this.

"Of course, my lord. You have my word." Éomer replied, still smiling widely.

Before Lynwen knew it, Elladan, Estel and Arwen and appeared next to them. "What's happening?" Arwen asked.

Elrond turned around to face his other children, still holding the happy grin upon his face. "Lynwen has accepted Lord Éomer's marriage proposal. They are engaged!"

Her siblings immediately looked towards Lynwen, all looking a little shocked. But after a few moments, they all smiled, with Estel wishing them both a congratulations. Elladan and Arwen, she noticed, both gave her a subtle wink and a supportive smile, making it clear that they were proud of her for taking their advice, and moving on from Elrohir.

But she didn't feel like she had moved on, at all. In fact, she just felt even more lost and confused.

xxx

The last of the guests had left the party around midnight, and Lynwen decided to leave not long after that. After she had wished her family a goodnight, and Éomer had excitedly arranged plans with her for them to spend the following day together, she slowly made her way up the open-air corridors towards her bed chambers, deeply inhaling the cool night air that was mixed with the sweet subtle smell of the white lunar flowers that opened up in the moonlight.

Once she was inside her room, and had made sure her bedroom door was firmly locked behind her, she walked over to her bedroom window, not bothering to light any candles on her way. Right now, she preferred to just be alone in the dark, with only the dim light of the moon casting it's silver shadow ever so softly around her room. She placed her elbows on the windowsill and leant her chin in the palm of her hands, gazing out at the night sky. "What the hell have I got myself into?" She quietly mumbled to herself, while sighing deeply.

"Do you want to marry him?"

Lynwen jumped and spun around at the calm, smooth voice that unexpectedly came from behind her. Her room was dark, but she could just make out the figure of a male beginning to stand up from their previously sitting position in the armchair that was on the opposite side of her room. Lynwen was frozen to the spot in complete shock, she was too stunned to move. And this male figure was now standing completely still on the other side of her room, his body just a tall, slim, and even a menacing looking, silhouette, due to the silver moonlight shining in through the bedroom window.

But Lynwen wasn't at all frightened by this tall dark figure standing in her bedroom completely uninvited. She wasn't frightened, because she had instantly recognised that smooth, deep voice, as soon as he had startled her from her thoughts. Her heart was now pounding in her chest uncontrollably, her breathing becoming slightly faster, for she knew that this tall dark figure who was standing before her, was Elrohir.


	11. A Passionate Forgiveness

_**WARNING- This chapter contains sexual content.**_

Chapter 11 - A Passionate Forgiveness

Neither of them moved for quite some time. Lynwen was too stunned to move, let alone answer his question. She'd been rehearsing in her head all week as to what she would say to Elrohir when she finally found herself face to face with him again. All her hurt, her anger, her desperation to put things right, she'd had all these emotions put into words, just waiting for the opportunity to be able to shout them in his face.

And here he was, finally stood directly in front of her. But all her rehearsed words had completely escaped her! She couldn't think what she wanted to say to him. She couldn't decide what she was even feeling at this precise moment. Was she angry? Was she happy? Did she want to punch him? Or did she want to embrace him tightly, and never let go? She just didn't know!

Elrohir hadn't moved an inch, and remained standing completely still on the other side of Lynwen's bedroom. He'd only been gone for six days, but he'd realised quite quickly that he'd missed her and knew that he needed to see her again. He had arrived back in Rivendell just a couple of hours ago in the hope of reconciling their relationship, but he had not been expecting to have been met with the news that Lynwen was now engaged! It infuriated him to think of another man even thinking about touching Lynwen in the way he had done so many times, and he wanted nothing more, than to kill this Éomer for trying to take Lynwen, _his _Lynwen, from him!

Elrohir took a few slow steps across her bedroom towards her, and stopped when he was a couple of feet in front of her. With him now standing closer to the window, Lynwen could see him more clearly as he stood in the moonlight. His straight, jet-black hair, was tied back in a low ponytail, a few short strands hanging loosely around his face. And maybe it was just the lack of lighting in the room, but all his clothes appeared to be dark-coloured, which consisted of a pair of breeches, knee high boots, and a loosely fitted buttoned shirt. Lynwen looked back up from his clothing, and met his intense stare, his beautiful grey eyes boring right into her, his expression serious, even angry.

"Do you want to marry him?" Elrohir quietly asked her again, his voice almost quivering with the anger that was evident in his eyes. His positioning completely unmoved.

Lynwen just stared right back at him for a few moments, still trying to deal with the shock of finding him here in her bedroom waiting for her, before she eventually answered. "You know I don't." She said, her voice very quiet, but very sure. Her concentrated stare never leaving his.

Elrohir took a few deep breaths, his intense gaze still fixed upon her, his posture still unmoved. "_Will _you marry him?"

Lynwen noticed how his eyes suddenly appeared very dark in colour, and seemed to be full of a mixture of extreme anger, but also of the passion that she'd seen in them many times during their love affair. And she could see that they were now desperately searching hers for an answer. She continued to look back at him, not breaking their eye contact. Her expression was pensive where she was trying to sift through all the thoughts that were going through her mind, trying to process her sudden engagement to Éomer, and what it was that Elrohir was now asking her. After a few moments, she quietly and slowly answered him. "I _will _marry him, if there is nothing left here for me, anymore."

Elrohir stiffened a little at Lynwen's words, his eyes seeming to grow darker in colour. Lynwen noticed his reaction, and so, she slowly continued. "Is there... anything left here for me?" She asked, her eyes desperately searching his for an answer.

Elrohir's expression didn't change. He still looked at Lynwen with the same fury flashing in his eyes, his jaw flexing with the rage that he was feeling. Rage at this impostor daring to take his woman from him. Rage at Lynwen for accepting the impostor's marriage proposal. And rage at himself for leaving her, and allowing these events to unfold in his absence. He continued to stand there unmoving, staring at her with an overwhelming passion and fury, but he didn't answer her.

Lynwen suddenly found herself feeling infuriated at Elrohir's silence. She was so angry at the fact that he'd taken off and left her unexpectedly, six days ago, and was now standing here demanding information about her engagement to Éomer, and even had the cheek to be getting angry about it! How dare he! She thought to herself. And now she was holding out an olive branch with her last question, but he was refusing to take it?!

She suddenly had difficulty catching her breath, her chest beginning to rise rapidly up and down. She couldn't control all these mixture of emotions that were soaring through her. She desperately wanted to beat him, and passionately kiss him simultaneously! She hated and loved him, all at the same time! And she couldn't prevent her right fist from clenching and taking a hard swing towards Elrohir's face, her anger and frustration towards him, quickly taking over her body! But Elrohir was too quick for her. He'd brought up his left hand so fast that Lynwen didn't see it coming until he had already taken a firm grip of her wrist, stopping her attack in mid-air. Without thinking, she'd brought up her left hand in another attempt to strike him, but again, Elrohir's unnaturally fast reflexes, had stopped her again, his right hand now keeping a firm grip of her left wrist.

Lynwen's breathing was getting out of control, her rage towards him for what he'd put her through over the last week, was taking over. Elrohir still had a strong hold of both of her wrists in mid-air, his expression still serious, but his eyes seemed to be alight with only passion now, as they continued to bore into hers.

Lynwen brought up one of her feet in an attempt to kick him, but again, Elrohir was too quick and had blocked that too with his leg. And soon enough, he had thrown Lynwen to the floor, bringing himself down on top of her as her attempts to attack him with her legs had become more violent. He now had her pinned to the ground on her back, him lying on top of her. His firm grip still on her wrists which were outstretched above her head, and his legs were strategically placed on top of hers so that she was unable to move an inch.

"Get off me!" Lynwen growled through gritted teeth. "I swear, I'll kill you!"

Elrohir just smirked, ever so slightly, at her threat, his face only a couple of centimetres from hers. "I'd like to see you try, little one." he breathed on to her lips, before he slowly moved his head so that his mouth was grazing the side of her neck, his breathing becoming more rapid. "I'm so sorry for leaving you like that, Lynwen. Please forgive me. I've missed you so much!" He softly breathed onto her skin, before he began to place feather light kisses up and down the entire length of her neck.

His boldness enraged Lynwen even more, and she began her attempt to move and free her body from under him by trying to pull her wrists from his strong hold, and wriggle her legs from under his weight. But he kept his grip on her body firmly, preventing her from escaping.

He then brought his head up from the side of her neck, and suddenly crashed his lips down upon hers, kissing her with incredible force, and desperate passion.

Lynwen managed to break her lips free from his, and abruptly turned her head away from him. Her anger was now at boiling point. All she wanted to do was to lash out at him and hurt him badly. "Ro, I swear to you, I will kill you if you don't get off me, now!" Lynwen growled at him, her face still turned away from his.

This only seemed to encourage Elrohir even more, his hot breath panting onto Lynwen's neck. "I love it when you're angry" he breathed into her ear, sensually, before he seductively, and extremely slowly, began to drag the tip of his tongue all the way up the outer edge of her ear, causing Lynwen's eyes to close and a loud gasp to escape her lips.

Lynwen couldn't prevent the emotions from suddenly changing within her. Her anger towards him was still there, but her lust for him was beginning to come to the forefront. The area between her legs was starting to react rapidly to his bold and forceful actions, and she unknowingly bucked her hips up off the floor to meet with his, as he continued to lick and nibble at her ear.

Elrohir's body immediately reacted to the feel of Lynwen pressing her hips into his, and his elf-hood grew hard extremely fast! His desperation to be once again, physically joined with this woman lying underneath him, was now clearly evident in his breeches. And he slowly and firmly thrust his erection into the space between Lynwen's legs, letting out a deep groan as he did so. His mouth was still hovering over her ear, and his hot ragged breath was igniting her skin and filling Lynwen with passion.

She abruptly turned her head back to face him, and hungrily took a hold of his mouth with hers, kissing him with a desperate yearning. Elrohir happily obliged and began kissing her back with the same force, both of them eagerly exploring each other's mouths with their tongues. Both of them gasping as they frantically had their open mouths firmly pressed up against each other's, desperate to once again, taste the other.

Elrohir released his grip from Lynwen's left wrist, which had still been positioned above her head, and he brought down his right hand and aggressively took a hold of her left breast, his kiss deepening into her mouth.

Lynwen still had a mixture of emotions souring through her body towards Elrohir; love, hate, anger, lust, they were all powering through her at a hundred miles per hour! And as soon as Elrohir had let go of her wrist, she saw her opportunity to unleash her rage, and she slapped Elrohir, hard, across the side of his head. This action caused Elrohir to pull away from their kiss and aggressively grab a hold of her wrist again, throwing her arm into the floor above her head, trapping her in his hold, once more.

"You're only encouraging me further, little one." He breathed heavily onto her lips, before he began to devour her mouth again.

Lynwen moaned into the kiss, and kissed him back just has hard, her body desperately trying to press against his as she continued to buck her hips off the floor, revelling in the feel of his hard erection pressed up against the space between her legs.

Elrohir decided to take a risk by letting go of her wrists above her head again, so that he could promptly begin to rip off her clothes. As he let go of her wrists, and still not removing their mouths from each other's, Lynwen immediately brought down her hands and grabbed a hold of his shirt, violently tearing it open and causing the buttons to come flying off. His bare chest was now fully exposed, with him still hovering above her. Their kissing each other still rough and desperate, when Lynwen, still holding a mixture of resentment and passion towards him, viciously dragged her nails down the bare skin of his chest, causing Elrohir to throw his head back and cry out in pain.

After taking a couple of deep breaths, trying to ignore the immense stinging of the skin on his chest, he looked back down at Lynwen who was still lying on her back underneath him, staring right into his eyes. Her expression was a mixture of desire and resentment, her breathing erratically out of control as her chest was heaving up and down quickly. Elrohir's yearning to make mad, passionate, love to Lynwen, had increased dramatically after her aggressive actions. And the way she looked right now lying on the floor, her face full of anger and passion, only fuelled his desire even more. He had to take her now! He couldn't wait another second! He swiftly removed the remainder of his shirt from his back, and reached down into his boot, pulling out his hunting knife which he then held up above Lynwen's chest.

Lynwen's eyes widened with shock at the sharp blade that he was holding above her, the metal glistening in the moonlight, and the look on his face was one of lust-filled determination. Elrohir brought down the blade and placed it under the neckline of her dress, directly between her breasts. He then quickly, and very skillfully, sliced the full length of her dress and underwear in two, inciting a shocked gasp from Lynwen, before he hungrily peeled the material back from her now, naked body. He threw the knife to one side before placing his hands around Lynwen's back, bringing her up into a sitting position, him now on his knees. He then completely tore the remainder of her dress and underwear from her body, tossing them across the bedroom, before placing his hand at the back of her head and began kissing her passionately. Their tongues once again, fighting for dominance.

Elrohir pulled away from their kiss after only a few moments, and stood up from the floor as he promptly began to remove his boots and breeches, also tossing them across the bedroom.

Lynwen, at seeing his perfectly toned naked body and very erect shaft, seductively laid back down on the floor, slowly opening her legs, silently begging him to join her. Elrohir didn't need any more convincing, and he threw himself back down on top of her, placing himself between her spread legs before he vigourously thrust his large, erect, elf-hood deep inside her, causing them both to cry out at the immense pleasure they instantly felt at being joined together, again.

Elrohir started to passionately kiss her once more, his hips thrusting his erection in and out of her, hard! Lynwen reached around to the back of his head and ripped out his hair-tie, tearing a few of his hairs from his head in the process, but freeing his long hair and allowing it to hang loosely in front of him. She reached up her hands and began to run her fingers through is smooth, black, mane, her legs wrapping firmly around his waist, her hips bucking upwards to meet his every harsh and vigourous thrust.

Elrohir then placed his hands around her back and lifted her up off the floor, and with her legs still wrapped tightly around his waist, he proceeded to stand up completely, his hard shaft still fully sheathed inside of her. He walked the few steps towards the edge of her bedroom, and forcefully threw her back against the wall, inciting a painful groan from Lynwen as her back forcefully met with the hard surface behind her, before he continued to thrust into her again.

Lynwen still had a hold of his hair, and she brutally pulled at it, causing his head to fall backwards. She leaned her face down next to the side of his head, while her hips fell into the rough rhythm that he had set, before she panted into his ear, "I hate you!" She growled, as she bit down on the tip of his pointed ear.

Elrohir moaned deeply at this action before he roughly took a hold of her hands, and planted them into the wall either side of Lynwen's head, causing her to gasp in pain, again. "I know." He snarled back at her, before he rampantly started to thrust in and out of her again, his head leaning back as he relished in the pleasure he was feeling, feral grunts now escaping his lips.

Lynwen was feeling an equal amount of pleasure, and couldn't contain the loud moans that were now coming from her mouth. The beautiful sight of Elrohir's contorted face before her, causing her hips to frantically meet with his deep, powerful thrusts. "Ritho! Hortho! (Harder! Faster!)" She cried out.

Elrohir released her hands from their position against the wall, and grabbed a hold of her hips, before he began pounding into her at such a speed and force, that Lynwen knew her back was going to be covered in bruises by the way her body was being repeatedly hammered against the wall.

Lynwen could then feel her climax building up inside her, fast! She grabbed a hold of Elrohir's hair once again, entwining it in her fingers and gripping it hard as she cried out, "Caro! Caro! (Yes!)". She closed her eyes before leaning forward and embracing Elrohir tightly in her arms, biting into his shoulder so hard that he cried out at the pain! Her body now began to violently shake from the enormous orgasm that was surging through her whole body, the feel of Elrohir's hard shaft still buried deep inside her.

Elrohir was only seconds behind her, erupting into his own explosive orgasm, his hot seed filling her completely. He clung on to her tightly as well, groaning deeply into her neck as the last of his seed was finally spilled within her.

It was probably the most intense, explosive, and aggressive sex, they had had together yet, and his legs were shaking and threatening to buckle underneath him. He walked them both over to her bed, and lowered them both down onto the blankets, Lynwen still clinging to him tightly, as they both now laid on their sides facing each other.

After a few minutes of holding on to each other, Elrohir subtly began to place gentle kisses on her shoulder, the rest of his body still completely worn out and exhausted, and unable to move. Lynwen slowly released her firm grip on him, and brought her head back a little to look at him, an affectionate smile upon her face as she gazed into his grey eyes.

"I've missed you too." She said, almost in a whisper.

Elrohir looked at her questioningly, his brow furrowed at her comment, for it sounded like she was responding to him saying those words, first?

Lynwen saw the confusion in his face and laughed a little at his expression.

"When you had me pinned on the floor, before." She gestured her head to the area of the bedroom in question. "You told me that you'd missed me so much." She reminded him, still smiling at his puzzled face.

Elrohir immediately broke out into a smile as he remembered those words he'd said to her, earlier. "Ah yes! I did say that, you're right." He said as he looked upwards, as if trying to think back. He then reached up his hand and began to rub the side of his head while frowning a little. "I think you must have temporarily knocked that memory out of my brain, when you smacked me across the head!"

Lynwen burst out laughing at this, and gently pushed Elrohir's shoulder backwards a little, inciting a deep-hearted laugh from him. After their laughter had died down a little, Lynwen then leant up on her elbow and rested her head in the palm of her hand, looking down at Elrohir.

"Yes, but you deserved it." She said quietly, and a little more seriously.

Elrohir then leant up on his elbow too, his expression now changed and instead, looking a little sorrowful and full of regret. He placed his free hand at the side of her face, gently intwining his fingers in her hair. "Aye, I did deserve it, Lynwen. And I'm sorry that I left you the way that I did." He continued to look into her eyes, a look of longing now evident in his, before he took a deep breath and hesitantly continued on. "And I hope that you'll forgive me and take me back?" He asked, hope evident in his voice.

Lynwen only smiled at his words. She felt so happy to have Elrohir back with her again, that nothing else mattered. Not even her new fiancée! She leaned in to Elrohir and subtly placed her lips upon his, kissing him ever so slowly, and passionately.

She knew at that moment, that Elrohir was always going to be able to have a strong, emotional hold over her, no matter which direction their lives ended up taking. She couldn't help it! Elrohir had an amazing ability to make her fall head over heels for him, no matter what! And she couldn't imagine her life without him. He was her rock, a pillar for her to lean on, and her purpose for now wanting to remain in Rivendell.

She just didn't know how this was going to be achieved, now that she was engaged to someone else!


	12. A Secret, No More

_**WARNING- This chapter contains sexual content.**_

Chapter 12- A Secret, No More

The next morning, Lynwen quietly tip-toed back across her bedroom from her bathroom, after quickly brushing her teeth and making herself look a bit more presentable, before she silently crawled back in her bed and laid back down next to a soundly sleeping Elrohir. He was lying on his stomach, his head resting on its side so he was facing in her direction, his left arm was lying flush along the side of his naked body, and his right arm was bent at the elbow with his hand positioned on the pillow in front of his face. The blanket was only covering the bottom half of his body, with his smooth, toned back, fully exposed to her. His long black hair was spread messily all over the pillow and over his shoulders, reflecting in the rays of the sunlight that were illuminating his ivory skin. Lynwen couldn't take her eyes off him. He truly was perfect!

Lynwen bent down from her position next to him, and began to place gentle kisses from the base of his back, all the way up the entire length of his spine, before seductively gliding her tongue over his strong muscular shoulders. She was so completely and utterly lost in the taste and feel of his silky skin, that she jumped a little when her face came to within a hair's breadth of his, to find that his eyes were fully open and staring right at her. A slight smirk then appeared on his face after seeing her startled expression, as he continued to lie in his position on his stomach.

"I'm sorry if I woke you." Lynwen said to him softly after she'd gotten over her little shock, her fingers seductively stroking his bare back and shoulders.

Elrohir then, unexpectedly, sprang up from his lying position, startling Lynwen in the process, and threw her down on her back, with him now lying on top of her, his hands supporting his weight.

"No you're not." He said to her while smirking cheekily, before he captured her lips with his in an enthusiastic kiss, one of his hands now gliding down the side of her naked body. Lynwen gasped into his mouth as his hand had come to rest between her legs, two of his fingers now slowly beginning to enter her, when...

"Lynwen?" Anira's voice sounded through the bedroom door followed by a few hard knocks on the wood.

Lynwen couldn't hide her immense disappointment at them being disturbed, and she sighed heavily into Elrohir's mouth, while he withdrew his fingers and dropped his head in frustration.

"Lynwen, open the door! You're meeting Lord Éomer in one hour and you need to get ready!"

Elrohir stiffened at the mention of Éomer's name, his hands still supporting his weight above Lynwen. He brought his head back up to look at Lynwen, his jaw now flexed at the anger that he was feeling at being reminded of that impostor who was trying to take _his _Lynwen from him.

Lynwen knew she needed to get rid of Anira immediately, for if she knew Elrohir was in here, there would be hell to pay! "I'm just heading into the shower, Anira. Can you come back in half an hour?" Lynwen shouted towards her door in her desperation to deter her hand maiden for as long as possible.

"Fine! But I'll be back in half an hour, exactly!" Anira called back, before she could be heard walking away down the corridor.

Lynwen could see Elrohir's sudden change in emotion, and continued to look back up at him for a few moments, feeling extremely anxious about how he was going to react to the words she was about to speak.

"Ro... she's right... I... I do have plans to meet with Éomer today." She said, hesitantly. Her eyes revealing her apprehension as she awaited his reaction.

Elrohir's eyes darkened at hearing Lynwen's words as he continued looking down at her, his jaw flexing even more, and his rage becoming more apparent by the way his body had stiffened.

"You plan on meeting with him, still?" He quietly snarled at her through gritted teeth.

Lynwen only continued to look up at him, unsure of how to reply. Of course, she would much prefer to stay here with Elrohir, but she couldn't cancel her plans with Éomer, now. It would look too suspicious. But she knew Elrohir would not see it that way.

After he'd gotten no response from her, he abruptly pushed himself up from his position on top of her, and leapt off the bed, walking over to where he'd thrown his clothes the night before, angrily picking them up off the floor before beginning to aggressively pull on his breeches.

Lynwen slowly sat up on the bed, bringing her legs over the side so her feet were now resting on the floor, where she was now facing him. She was now holding the blanket tightly around herself, suddenly feeling a little awkward at being naked.

"Ro, please don't do this." She softly begged him from her position on the bed. But Elrohir didn't even look at her. Instead he continued to angrily pull on his breeches, his jaw still clenching at the mere thought of Éomer, and of Lynwen's determination to still meet with him today.

Lynwen slowly stood up from the bed still holding the blanket around herself, her face looking worried. Worried that Elrohir may just end up leaving her again. He really was such an unpredictable character, and she wouldn't put it past him to just take off like he did a week before.

"Ro?" She quietly called to him from her standing position next to her bed. Her eyes pleading with him to remain and talk to her. But she got nothing.

"Ro?" She said a little louder this time, but Elrohir continued to ignore her, and was now just shaking his shirt vigourously in front of him where he wasn't able to find which way was inside out, in his temper-fuelled daze. His frustration clearly evident in his aggressive actions, and his now heavily furrowed brow.

After a few moments of patiently awaiting a response from him, Lynwen could suddenly feel herself getting angry. She couldn't believe that he was ignoring her! And was he was actually daring to walk out on her, again?! She suddenly marched across the bedroom towards him, aggressively snatching the shirt from his hands as she came to a stop directly in front of him.

"Why are you doing this?!" She demanded, her voice slightly raised. Elrohir looked down at her now, his face still showing his anger, but also a bit of surprise at Lynwen's sudden actions. But Lynwen didn't really give him a chance to reply before she quickly continued speaking, her voice now even more raised.

"Is this the way it's going to be, Ro?! You just taking off whenever something doesn't quite go your way?! And then expecting me to wait around, for goodness knows how long, before you eventually get over your sulk, and decide to come back to me?! Well I'm not going to stand for it anymore, Ro! If you want to leave, then I'm not going to stop you. But don't expect me to wait for you!"

Lynwen was furious, her eyes were alight with the rage she was feeling, but were also threatening to spill a couple of stray tears due to the surge of emotions that were running through her at that moment.

"And for the love of Elbereth! It goes this way!" She shouted while turning his shirt the right way around, and holding it up in front of him.

Elrohir was silent, and he looked completely stunned as he hesitantly took his shirt from her. He hadn't been expecting Lynwen to verbally attack him like that. But he suddenly felt a little silly now, for he knew that her words rung true. She was right.

Lynwen looked at him one last time, her face now just looking sorrowful and disappointed, before she slowly turned away from him and began walking back towards her bed. Elrohir quickly reached out his hand and grabbed a hold of her upper arm, preventing her from walking away. He turned her back around and pulled her towards him so that they were now facing each other again, before he reached up and cupped her face with both of his hands and looked at her pleadingly.

"I'm sorry, Lynwen. Truly, I am." He quietly said, while never taking his eyes from hers. He took a deep breath before he continued. "I suppose... I'm just finding this... engagement of yours, a little hard to take." Elrohir dropped his head and looked down at the floor after he spoke.

Lynwen couldn't prevent the overwhelming feeling of guilt stabbing at her heart as she looked at Elrohir, now. She knew it was wrong of him to take off the way that he did, but he should never have had to come back to news that she was now engaged to someone else. She could only begin to imagine how he must be feeling.

Still holding the blanket around herself with her left hand, she reached up her right hand, placing her finger under his chin and tilted his head back up to look at her. Her heart ached even more when she noticed how his eyes looked full of hurt and sadness, and she moved her hand from his chin to his cheek, where she softly began to stroke his skin with her fingertips.

"I'm the one who's sorry, Ro. I should never have accepted his marriage proposal." Lynwen said, as she dropped her hand back down to her side. She continued to look into his eyes for a few moments before taking a deep breath and continuing on. "But you have to understand, Ro. I had no idea if you were ever coming back. And everyone was telling me that marrying Éomer was the only option for me. That I'd finally have an opportunity to be with my own kind, and that I wouldn't feel so alone anymore."

Elrohir felt such sadness at hearing her last words. It was because of Lynwen's lack of friends, that he'd taken her under his wing all those years ago, never wanting her to feel lonely, ever again. But it would appear that she was still searching for some type of companionship in her life, clearly still feeling very isolated, and it depressed him immensely to think that she could be unhappy in her life.

His fingers slid into her hair some more, his palms still cupping her face, as he looked into her eyes with such adoration and compassion. He felt so strongly for Lynwen, and had such an overwhelming desire to protect her. And he knew he'd, very happily, spend the rest of her days ensuring that she was happy.

"I do understand, Lynwen, and I completely blame myself for putting you in that situation. But I do need to know... will you choose me, or him?" Elrohir unknowingly held his breath after he'd asked her, nervously anticipating her response. But Lynwen just smiled up at him, loving how he could be so blind sometimes. "Didn't I make that clear to you, last night?" She asked him, her smile still spread across her face, her eyes glinting a little cheekily.

Elrohir let out the breath he'd been holding in, and smiled widely at her suggestive question, those faint laughter lines that Lynwen loved so much, were etched into his smooth, creamy skin, and his grey eyes were flashing with happiness, and their usual mischievousness. He leant his head down, and rested his forehead against hers.

"Aye, you did make it clear after the third time!" He said, while letting out a little laugh as he remembered back to their lust-filled antics the night before. His expression then became more serious as he spoke again. "And I promise you, Lynwen, I'll never allow anything, or _anyone_, to come between us again." He said to her, before he gently brought his lips down upon hers.

After a few moments of them softly kissing each other, they slowly broke apart, Elrohir leaning his forehead against hers once again. Lynwen looked up into his eyes, her face now looking a little worried as she asked him. "What am I going to do about Éomer?"

Elrohir sighed deeply and closed his eyes, still relishing in the feel of her warm skin against his face, but now feeling a little anxious at this problem that they were both now faced with.

"You're going to have to break off the engagement, Lynwen. It's the only thing you can do."

Lynwen gulped at Elrohir's words, and at the reality of the situation. This was the last position she wanted to find herself in! Having to break off the engagement with Éomer was truly going to be a horrible experience. And she knew that he was going to be crushed, which made her feel so guilty. And then there was Ada! What was he going to say?!

"Do I tell Éomer the truth? About me and you, I mean" She asked him.

Elrohir shook his head. "No, you cannot tell anyone about us. Not yet. Just tell him that you made a mistake and that you're not ready to be married to anyone, and that you want to remain here in Imladris." Elrohir instructed her as he subtly stroked her hair.

Lynwen took a deep breath before she spoke. "And what about Ada? He's going to want to know why I've had a sudden change of heart..."

"Just concentrate on Éomer, and leave Ada to me." Elrohir said, his expression looking quite serious again, but his eyes were boring right into Lynwen's, ensuring her that all would be ok.

Lynwen nodded her understanding, dreading the moment she'd have to face Éomer again, and then having to break it all off with him!

"It'll all be alright, Lynwen. I promise you." Elrohir said after he could see her worried expression. He smiled at her reassuringly and then leaned down again to kiss her softly, his tongue gently caressing her own.

Lynwen always felt so safe and reassured in Elrohir's arms, forgetting all her worries outside of their intimate moments they shared together. And while she was kissing him with the same desire, Lynwen brought up both of her hands and run them through his long hair, causing the blanket that she had been holding to cover her naked body, to fall to the floor and pool around her feet. But she didn't even notice, too lost was she in the affectionate moment.

Elrohir reached down and scooped her up in his arms, walking them both over to the bed and placing her on top of the sheets before lying himself down on top of her, kissing her with even more yearning.

Lynwen suddenly felt his hardness pressed up against the inside of her bare thigh, and she abruptly pulled away from their kiss. "Ro, we can't! Anira will come back for me soon."

Elrohir just smirked as he looked down at her lying underneath him. "Do not worry, little one, for I am sure that I will be very quick." He said to her through slightly ragged breaths, his face now breaking out into an even bigger smile as he laughed at his admission.

Lynwen also laughed at his comment, and promptly wrapped her arms around his shoulders again, pulling him back into a passionate kiss, where they made love, once more.

xxx

Lynwen was walking through the gardens around an hour later, slowly making her way to the stables where she was due to be meeting Éomer. She couldn't help trying to stall their meeting, by stopping next to most of the plants in the gardens and admiring their sweet scents and bright colours, all the while, trying to find the courage to face him again. Her stomach was turning as she finally approached the stables because she could see Éomer already waiting outside sat upon his horse, her own horse saddled up, and standing next to his. His face lit up and broke out into a huge smile when he saw her approaching.

"Good morning, Lynwen." He said to her as she approached him. "I took the liberty of getting your horse ready for you." He was now holding out the reins for her to take.

"Thank you Éomer." Lynwen said quietly, almost feeling too ashamed to look him directly in the eye. She took the reins from him, and climbed up on her horse, shocking Éomer by the way she had to pull up her skirts to allow her to put a leg on either side of the saddle, the black knee-high boots she was wearing under her dress, now clearly visible to him.

"I had such a wonderful time last night." He said to her, forcing himself to bring his eyes away from her legs, and back up to look at her face.

Lynwen smiled a little nervously, and only looked at him out of the corner of her eye, still not being able to look at him directly. "Yes, me too." Was all she could bring herself to say.

"Ok, well you are my guide today, Lynwen. So you can show me all that Rivendell has to offer!" He said to her enthusiastically.

Lynwen looked around them a few times, before turning her head back to face him. "Is it not customary for courtships to be chaperoned in Rohan?" Lynwen asked him after she could see that they were completely alone.

"Aye it is." He replied as he leaned his head towards her. "But we're not in Rohan, are we?" He said as his face broke out into a smile again. He then gestured his hand out in front of them. "Lead the way, my lady." He said to her, still smiling widely.

They both spent the entire day making their way around Rivendell, Lynwen pointing out areas she thought he might be interested in, and explaining some of the history of the place, and how it all came to be. They had stopped at midday next to one of the waterfalls, where they'd sat down on the grass bank of the river, and had eaten the packed lunch that Éomer had brought for them. It had been a beautifully sunny day, with not a single cloud in the sky. And the sun had been at it's highest point during that hour they'd spent eating their lunch, which caused the surface of the river to glisten, and the thundering waterfall to sparkle, as it cascaded down the cliff face. It was such a beautiful sight, and Lynwen had instantly felt guilty for thinking that she'd much rather be sharing this moment with Elrohir, rather than Éomer.

There was only around an hour left until sunset when they both made their way back to the stables. As they lead their horses across the cobbled courtyard, they were met by Glandur, the young stable-hand, who swiftly retrieved the horses from the pair after they had dismounted. They both stood in silence for a few moments as they watched Glandur leading the horses away, before Lynwen broke the silence.

"Well, I'd better be getting back." She said to Éomer as she started walking away from him, her head tilted down, purposely not looking at him.

But Éomer had quickly grabbed a hold of her hand, pulling her back to him where he then, unexpectedly, planted his lips on to hers, startling Lynwen with his bold actions. It took her a couple of seconds to realise what was happening, before she quickly pulled away from him.

"Éomer, we shouldn't do that in public." She said, not really caring about what others would think, but she just didn't know how else to explain her pushing him away.

"You're right Lynwen, I'm sorry." He said, with a slight bow of his head. "But when I look at you, and the way the setting sun is lighting up your beautiful face in warm, glowing colours, well, I'm afraid I just can't help myself."

Lynwen didn't know whether to laugh or throw up at his words. She wasn't one for soppy romantic admissions, especially ones as cheesy as that! But she instantly felt sorry for him, for she knew that he actually meant every word of it. She could see the admiration he held for her, burning in his eyes, and knew that he wasn't just trying to woo her. He was simply speaking the truth. And that just made breaking it off with him, even more difficult. She knew he was going to be heart-broken. She had bottled out of finishing it with him today, just never finding the right moment to do so, and wondered if she would ever be brave enough to finally do it.

Lynwen then realised that she had been silent for quite a few moments, and saw Éomer looking at her expectantly, and even a little nervously. It looked like he was now regretting his poetic words, for Lynwen hadn't responded. She mentally shook herself, before she answered.

"You're too kind, Éomer." She said with a forced smile on her face, wishing that she was able to conjure up the courage to compliment him, too. But she couldn't bring herself to lie. That wouldn't be fair to him, she thought to herself. Instead, she just needed to get away from him, and quickly!

"Ok... so I'd better be going..." Lynwen said as she started to walk away from him again.

"Will I not escort you to dinner, Lynwen?" Éomer called after her.

Lynwen stopped in her tracks and turned around to look at him. He was still stood in the same position she had rudely left him in, but still looking at her with such adoration. She hated herself for leading him on like this. She knew she should never have accepted his marriage proposal, and she knew now that she had only done it to try to forget about Elrohir. She had shamelessly used Éomer to try and move on from Elrohir, and that was so completely unfair to poor Éomer. But knowing that she was going to have to find the courage from somewhere over the next couple of days, to end this engagement, she didn't think it necessary to give him any more false hopes by accepting his offer to dinner.

"Umm, I'm actually not very hungry, Éomer, so I don't think I'll go to dinner this evening." Was all she could bring herself to say as she looked at him for a few more moments, seeing the confusion in his face. She felt the guilt, tug at her heart at seeing his expression, but she reluctantly turned and walked away from him, leaving him standing there feeling bewildered.

xxx

Three days later, and Lynwen had still not broken off her engagement with Éomer. And she had even continued with their meetings during the day, much to the disapproval of Elrohir, but much to the excitement of her father.

Her and Elrohir had actually had a huge argument about the whole thing the night before, when they had been sat in their usual place on top of the valley. Elrohir was unable to understand why Lynwen had still not ended this engagement, and sent Éomer packing back to Rohan. She had tried to calmly explain her reasons of feeling guilty, to Elrohir, but this had just made him erupt into an enormous, audible fury, even more, causing Lynwen's anger to rise, and to suddenly pull off her boot in her desperation to find something to attack him with. Before Elrohir had chance to register what was happening, she had swung her boot hard, smacking him with it across the top of his arm. She had then abruptly stood up and hobbled back down the hillside, still wearing only one boot, and leaving Elrohir sat there in stunned silence, stroking his bruised arm.

It was impossible to make Elrohir see things her way, as he was just so extremely stubborn But in his defence, she knew she should have ended this engagement to Éomer straight away, but every time she came face to face with him, and was met with his heart-warming smile and obvious adoration for her, she just couldn't bring herself to break his heart. And also, she just didn't think she'd ever be ready to face the millions of questions from her family, especially from her father, as to why she had broken off the engagement, knowing that her relationship with Elrohir must remain a secret at all costs!

So after spending another day with Éomer horse riding around Rivendell, Lynwen was now stood in the stables alone, stroking the nose of one of the horses and talking to it quietly. She had always found it so therapeutic to do this, finding that the horses always seemed to relax and listen to every word she was saying. Right now, she was talking to Elrohir's horse, a jet-black stallion with a temper, and an unruly personality, to match that of his owner's. But at this moment, the stallion was allowing Lynwen to gently stroke the side of his head while he seemed to be listening to what Lynwen had been up to that day, softly nudging his head into her hands every time she had stopped stroking him. Lynwen truly loved this horse. He was a bit hard to handle, and so all the elves tended to avoid him when at all possible, but she never did. She loved his wild spirit and his determination to go where he wanted, eager to explore the world around him. She found she could relate to him in a way, for she had always wanted the same things for herself. She sighed to herself now, wondering if she'd ever get a chance to explore Middle Earth...

"What are you sighing for?" Elrohir's words startled her from her reverie. She turned around to find that he was stood in the doorway to the stables, leaning against the door frame with his arms folded in front of his chest. He was wearing his usual black breeches, black knee-high boots, and a white shirt. She noticed that he had the top few buttons to his shirt undone, probably due to the warm Spring weather that they had been experiencing of late, and the long sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing his slim, toned forearms, where a few of his veins were visibly protruding from his slightly flexed muscles. His hair was pulled back in one loose braid, which run half way down his back, and reflected the setting Spring sun that was illuminating the sky outside in orange and red colours. He was looking at Lynwen with a smirk across his face, and a mischievous glint in his eye.

But Lynwen didn't answer him. She was unable to forget as quickly as Elrohir clearly was. Their argument last night was still very fresh in her mind, and she was still holding a lot of anger towards him. So she just turned her head away from his direction and focused her attention back on the horse in front of her, not being able to bring herself to even talk to him yet. She jumped a little when Elrohir's arms came from behind her, wrapping themselves around her slim waist, with his chin coming to rest upon her shoulder.

"I'm sorry." He whispered into her ear, his warm breath making her skin tingle. After a few moments, he sighed deeply when he still didn't get a response from her. And knowing how fiery Lynwen could be, he knew that it probably wasn't going to be easy to get her talking to him again. It was sometimes a downside to their relationship that their personalities were both so similar in that respect, because it meant that when they didn't agree on something, they both clashed like nothing on Middle-Earth! But there definitely was a major upside to them both being so temperamental, and that was the passionate sex that they would both share on a nightly basis. And especially if they had had a disagreement beforehand, then that would just make the sex even more explosive! Elrohir smiled to himself as he remembered the aggressive sex they'd had three nights ago when he'd arrived back in Rivendell the night of Lynwen's birthday party. It had been so intense, with both of them feeling so much anger and resentment towards each other, mixed with their extreme desire and longing to be together, that it was probably the best sex that he had ever had! And he still had the scars on his chest from where Lynwen had ferociously dragged her nails down his bare skin! But it had been so completely worth it, he thought to himself, as his arms now tightened around her waist. And he'd kind of been hoping for a repeat of it last night, after the heated argument they'd had. But Lynwen hadn't come to him as she had always done previously, and so this was the first time he'd seen her since their outburst on top of the valley the night before.

"I was wrong to get angry." He spoke quietly again, his chin still resting on her shoulder, but she still wouldn't acknowledge him. Instead, she continued to focus her attention on his horse, who was now nudging her hands with his head, reminding her that she had momentarily stopped stroking him.

"I have quite a bruise on my arm!" He said a bit louder this time, his voice sounding chirpier. "I've been attacked with many weapons in my lifetime; arrows, swords, knives, axes, even Mithrandir's staff! But I have to say, I have never been attacked with a boot, before! Yes, that was a first!" He said to her in jest, which incited a sudden uncontrolled laugh from Lynwen. He smiled widely at hearing her, knowing that he was finally breaking through the invisible barricade that she had built around herself. But Lynwen's laugh had faded very quickly, and she instead just coughed a couple of times, as if trying to disguise the fact that he had made her laugh. He just couldn't help smiling even more at her determination to remain angry with him. She could be just as stubborn as he was!

He brought his arms away from her waist and placed them on her upper arms, turning her around to face him. But Lynwen kept her head tilted to the ground, avoiding any eye contact with him. So Elrohir placed a finger under her chin and brought her head up so she was forced to look at him. He was looking right into her eyes, his expression now looking a little sorrowful as he moved his hand up to the side of her face, affectionately placing a strand of her messy, dark brown, hair behind her ear. He looked at her for a few more moments, admiring how a streak of orange sunlight from the low setting sun outside, was coming in through a small window that was positioned just below the rafters in the roof of the stables, and was reflecting off her face, illuminating her uneven skin tone and revealing just how completely human she was. He gently stroked his thumb over her high cheek bone, noticing how the sunlight was making her eyes look an even brighter shade of blue. He took a deep breath before he spoke.

"I am sorry, Lynwen, truly I am. I shouldn't have gotten angry with you last night. I know how difficult it must be for you to have to end this engagement, and I should have been more understanding." He said to her, while his right hand was still cupping her left cheek.

"Yes you should have." Was all Lynwen said, as her face turned into a slight frown, her eyes now boring into his.

Elrohir couldn't help smiling at the grudge she was still holding against him, but also at the fact that he'd finally gotten her to speak! "Will you forgive me?" He asked her, softly.

Lynwen sighed heavily before she responded. "Yes, I suppose so." She said with a slight roll of her eyes, her expression still looking serious.

He knew that, despite her words, she probably still hadn't forgiven him. But he knew that he was now half way there to getting things back to normal between them. He also knew that he needed to ask her the dreaded question that had been plaguing his mind all day.

"Did you end it with Éomer?" He asked her quietly, anticipation in his voice.

Lynwen looked down to the ground again and subtly shook her head. She braced herself for yet another argument with Elrohir, and slowly brought her eyes up to look at him. But she was surprised to find that he had a slight smile on his face and his eyes were looking at her with such affection.

"You're not mad?" She asked him, curiously.

Elrohir took a deep breath before he answered her. "No, I'm not mad Lynwen. As I said, I understand how difficult it must be for you to do this." He said as he continued to keep his hand placed on her cheek, his fingers gently playing with her hair. "But, the longer you keep this going, the harder it's going to be for you to end it. I know it's not an easy thing to do..." He took another deep breath now, before slowly continuing. "... but you must end this, Lynwen." He brought up his left hand now and placed it on the other side of her face, his eyes softening as he gazed into hers. "End it tomorrow, little one. Don't let it drag on any longer." He quietly said to her, his eyes looking at her softly and showing her his support.

Lynwen gently nodded her head, knowing that Elrohir was right. "Ok. I'll do it tomorrow, I promise." She said to him, her face still looking serious.

Elrohir smiled even more now, admiring just how beautiful she looked at that moment, and wanting nothing more than to kiss the full pink lips that he loved so much. He slowly leant his head down towards hers, and ever so gently, placed his lips upon hers. He braced himself to be pushed away, knowing that Lynwen still hadn't completely forgiven him, but to his surprise, she started to kiss him back.

Lynwen hated the effect Elrohir always had over her. Even though she was still angry towards him about their row last night, she still couldn't help herself from melting under his touch, and completely surrendering herself to his kisses. It truly was an amazing talent he had, being able to make her forget about all her ill feelings towards him, with a single kiss. She was so lost in their kiss now, that she brought up both of her hands and placed them at the back of his head, bringing him closer to her and deepening their kiss. After just a few seconds, their kiss began to get more heated as both of them were desperately trying to explore the other's mouth with their tongues, both of them panting uncontrollably as Elrohir brought down his hands from Lynwen's face and proceeded to pull up her long skirts to her waist, revealing her soft creamy legs, and very unflattering, and very large, white underwear, that she was wearing.

"Ro, we can't! Not here! Glandur was out in the courtyard not too long ago" She said as she quickly pulled away from their kiss, frantically looking around them to see if anyone was near.

Elrohir, still holding up her skirts, just smiled cheekily, that mischievous glint in his eyes, evident again. "No one's around. I sent Glandur home just before I came in here." He said before he leant his face into her neck, "We're all alone, little one." He sensually breathed into her ear just before he began placing kisses up and down the length of her neck.

Lynwen closed her eyes, leaning her head to the side to allow Elrohir to access her neck more easily, before she wrapped her arms back around his neck, relaxing completely after his reassurance that they were alone.

Elrohir brought his head back up and captured her lips with his, once more, kissing her with the same hunger he had been just minutes before, while walking her back a few steps until her behind came into contact with the large wooden container where the hay was stored. Elrohir then moved his hands from where he was still holding up her skirts at her waist, and placed them at the tops of her bare legs, swiftly lifting her up so that she was now sat on top of the container. Still not breaking their passionate kiss, he then took a hold of the hem of her very unattractive pair of knickers, and proceeded to remove them from her body, with Lynwen lifting her behind up off the wooden container to assist him. He broke their kiss once he'd gotten her underwear as far as her knees, before getting down on to his own knees and pulling her knickers down over the rest of her legs, and over the flat, black, knee-high boots she was wearing, before tossing them carelessly to the side. While still on his knees, he started admiring her legs, gently running his hands up and down the entire length of them, loving how the dark colour of her boots, contrasted beautifully with her pale white skin. He brought his hands to rest on her knees, and gently pushed them apart before he bent down and started to place feather light kisses on the bare skin of her legs, slowly bringing his lips further up the insides of her thighs with every kiss he made.

Lynwen's breathing was getting out of control as she watched where Elrohir's mouth was heading to, wondering if he actually was going to kiss her, _there!_ During their whirlwind romance over the past few weeks, they had only ever had intercourse, with neither one ever having carried out any oral pleasures on each other. But now, she waited with bated breath, unable to hide the shocked expression on her face as she saw that Elrohir's lips were now so close to the intimate area between her legs, and she instinctively threw her head back while letting out a deep, drawn-out moan, as Elrohir's tongue seductively dragged itself up the entire length of her sensitive area, allowing her to experience a whole new euphoric sensation.

After a few moments of intimately licking her, Elrohir then used his fingers to gently open her a little bit more, before he slowly slid his tongue deep inside her, causing Lynwen to cry out, her head still tilted backwards, and her eyes still firmly closed. As Elrohir was inserting his tongue in and out, she brought up one of her legs and placed her booted foot on the wooden container that she was sat upon, her other leg still dangling over the edge, and as she grabbed a hold of the back of his head with both of her hands, she proceeded to thrust her hips into every insertion he was making with his tongue, completely and utterly relishing in this brand new, extremely blissful experience, that he was inflicting on her. She never wanted this to end!

But after a couple of minutes, Elrohir slowly pulled away from her and looked up at her contorted face, smiling to himself at how much she had clearly enjoyed the sex act he'd just carried out on her. He stood up from his kneeling position on the floor, and stood himself in-between her spread legs before leaning over slightly to kiss her on her lips, again, his hands now working their way through her tangled hair.

Lynwen was kissing him back so fiercely, her hands struggling with the buttons at the front of his breeches as she desperately tried to get them open to free his hardening member. She was aching to have him inside her again, and she just couldn't wait another moment!

Elrohir, at seeing her eagerness, didn't hesitate in pulling away from their kiss and very skilfully undid the buttons at the front of his breeches at an unnaturally fast speed, before promptly pulling out his shaft. Lynwen couldn't prevent her hips from bucking slightly at seeing the one thing that she needed more than anything, at that moment, and she grabbed a hold of the waistband of Elrohir's breeches, pulling him closer to her. And after a few firm swift strokes of his member, ensuring it was fully erect, Elrohir promptly inserted himself deep inside of Lynwen, placing his hands at the back of her knees so he could bring her spread legs up a little higher, allowing him to sink himself inside her a lot more deeply. Both of them moaned simultaneously, feeling completely content at being joined again.

Lynwen was now leaning back on her hands, allowing them to support her body as she arched backwards, her feet now crossed together behind Elrohir's legs, as he still supported her knees with his hands. The wooden container that she was still sat upon, was rattling and shaking violently as Elrohir continued to pound into her, causing some of the horses to become uneasy, and they were restlessly pacing around their individual horse-boxes at the loud noises that the pair were creating. But the two were too lost in each other to notice how their love-making was upsetting the live-stock surrounding them, and they both continued on devouring each other with their passionate kisses, and their desperate thrusts.

Elrohir could sense that Lynwen was trying to suppress the noises that were begging to escape from her mouth, and so he pulled away from their kissing before he panted against her lips. "Lynwen, no one can hear us out here, so don't hold back. Please, allow me to hear how much you're enjoying this." He begged her.

Lynwen didn't need anymore encouragement. She instantly relaxed, and began moaning loudly, allowing herself to completely enjoy the feel of Elrohir buried deep inside her. She wasn't holding anything back now, and soon enough, she was screaming out his name, and shouting out her instructions on how she wanted him to make love to her, all mixed with her loud moans and shouts of delight.

Elrohir absolutely loved hearing Lynwen during sex, and it always spurred him on even more, also making him cry out loudly at the extreme pleasure that he was feeling, as well.

But it was during this incredibly audible moment that they were both so utterly lost in, that they didn't hear someone approaching the stables. And it was only when the approaching person stopped suddenly, causing their feet to scrape on some gravel, that Lynwen and Elrohir froze and quickly turned their heads to face the doorway of the stables. But nothing could have prepared them for who it was who was standing there staring at them, his face in complete shock, his feet frozen to the ground, and his eyes wide with a mixture of disbelief, outrage, and utter devastation...

"Éomer!" Was all Lynwen could manage to say to him, knowing that not only was her engagement now well and truly over, her reputation permanently damaged, but her secret romance with her foster brother was now completely out in the open.


	13. An Unbreakable Love

Chapter 13 - An Unbreakable Love

In her panic, Lynwen placed her hands on Elrohir's chest and abruptly pushed him away from her before scrambling off the wooden container she had been sat upon, frantically pulling her skirts down in the process, and all the while, looking at Éomer with a horrified expression upon her face. Elrohir remained completely calm though, just momentarily turning away from Éomer to button-up the front of his breeches, before turning back around to face him again, with a placid, almost arrogant expression upon his face.

Lynwen was now standing next to Elrohir, her eyes wide with horror and staring at Éomer, who was still frozen to his spot in the doorway of the stables. She opened her mouth to speak, but before any words could come out, Éomer turned around and rushed away from them, swiftly making his way back in the direction of the main residences of Rivendell. Instinctively, Lynwen made to go after him but was stopped by Elrohir's hand grabbing her arm, pulling her back to his side.

"There's nothing that you can say to him that will make this any better. Just let him go, Lynwen." Elrohir spoke to her quietly, but firmly.

Lynwen looked up at him, her face still clearly showing how panic-stricken she was at being discovered the way that they had. "Ro, he doesn't deserve this. I have to at least try and talk to him!" She then pulled her arm free from his firm grip and ran out of the stables, leaving Elrohir standing there as he watched her run across the cobbled courtyard in her attempt to catch up to Éomer.

Éomer had only been walking quickly, so in her sprint, Lynwen was easily able to catch up to him in one of the lower level gardens. As she caught up to him, she reached out her hand and grabbed a hold of his fore-arm, pulling him to a halt.

"Éomer, I'm so sorry you..."

But before she could finish her sentence, Éomer had roughly pulled his arm away from her grip, turning around and looking at her like she was diseased, and noticeably keeping a safe distance between them, treating Lynwen as if she carried something highly contagious.

"Don't touch me, you bitch!" he spat at her, his voice sounding so aggressive and sharp, that Lynwen felt as if his words, alone, could cut her clean in two. But before she could respond, he had turned away from her again, and continued on with his swift walk back towards the main residences of the city.

But Lynwen wasn't going to give up that easily. She _couldn't _give up that easily. She was concerned for Éomer's well-being, feeling so guilty that he had had to find out about her and Elrohir like that, but she was also extremely worried about whether he was now going to announce to the whole of Rivendell about what he had just witnessed. What would her father say?! How would he react after finding out that his adoptive daughter, whom he openly considered to be his own flesh and blood, had been having intimate relations with his very own son! She knew for a fact that her father was not going to take kindly to learning of this relationship between his children, and knew that she had to continue in her attempts to try and talk to Éomer.

"Éomer, please! Please listen!" She said as she started chasing after him again.

But Éomer just ignored her, not even being able to bring himself to look at her, and instead, just continued walking back to the main area of the city.

"Éomer, please stop! I'm sorry, really I am! Please let me explain!"

Lynwen was suddenly startled as Éomer came to an abrupt stop and quickly turned around to face her, stopping her, dead, in her tracks. He looked at her with such disgust etched into his face before he spoke.

"Explain what?! Explain how I just saw you _screwing _your brother?! You disgust me!" He said, while he looked her up and down with such distaste upon his face, before he continued speaking. "And there was me thinking that Elladan had actually seemed like quite a decent fellow!" He mocked laughed to himself as he said this. "How stupid was I?!" He said as he rolled his eyes, as if realising how gullible he'd been.

It suddenly dawned on Lynwen at that moment, that Éomer had never actually met Elrohir before! And that Éomer probably didn't know that Elrohir even existed! She hesitated for a few moments before she slowly found the courage to correct him.

"Éomer, that... wasn't Elladan ... that you just saw me with." She quietly said to him, noticing the immediate confused expression that had suddenly appeared on his face. She took a breath before she slowly continued.

"That was Elrohir..." She said while looking right into his eyes. "...he's Elladan's twin brother." She said quietly, and remained silent for a few moments, allowing this information to try and sink in for Éomer. He wasn't looking at her anymore, and was now looking down to the ground, slightly, clearly trying to contemplate this new piece of information.

Seeing as Éomer wasn't attempting to walk away from her anymore, and was also remaining silent, Lynwen decided that now was a good time to try and explain herself.

"Éomer, myself and Elrohir were involved before I even met you, but then he left suddenly, leaving me to think that he may never come back. So as far as I was concerned, when I accepted your marriage proposal, I was single, and very keen to move on with my life." She took a deep breath before she continued. "But then Elrohir unexpectedly turned back up in Rivendell the night of my birthday party... and we..." She looked down at the ground now, unsure of how to continue on with her explanation. But before she could continue, Éomer suddenly spoke.

"So you mean to tell me that, what I just witnessed in the stables, was not the first time that that has happened this week? So you're telling me that the whole time me and you have been engaged, you've been secretly shagging your brother behind my back?!" He shouted at her, his eyes dark with fury, and fixed upon her face.

Lynwen's head snapped back up to look at him, knowing that her admission had just back-fired, big time! Now he knew that her affair had been going on the whole time that they'd been engaged! Lynwen was speechless, and just continued to look at him, unsure of what she could possibly say to make this better.

But Éomer only looked her up and down again in utter repulsion, before he turned away from her and started to make his way back towards the main residences. Lynwen could only stand there, staring after him. She just didn't know how she could even begin to put things right. She knew Éomer had every right to be angry with her, but she just prayed that he wouldn't tell everyone, especially her father, about what he saw in the stables! She quickly pulled herself together, and decided that she had no choice but to go after him again, and hope that she could convince him to keep her relationship with Elrohir a secret.

But Éomer had actually taken off quite quickly now, and so, by the time she had caught up with him, he was already out of the gardens, and was now ascending the stone steps that led up to the main residences of Rivendell. But she had no choice, although they were now likely to be overheard in their current location, she had to try to convince him.

"Éomer!" She called after him as she ran up the stone steps behind him. But he ignored her, and was now storming off down the open-air corridors towards his chambers.

"Éomer, please stop!" She called after him again, but still, he continued to ignore her.

As she followed him around the curve of the corridor, she then noticed Elladan and Estel up ahead, who were leaning against one of the stone pillars within the open-air corridor, just opposite the dining room, obviously waiting for dinner to begin. They had heard this last call that Lynwen had made, and both looked in the direction from where it had come from to see what was going on. But just as they both turned their heads, they were startled by Éomer suddenly appearing without warning, and storming straight past them in the direction of the bed chambers, with Lynwen suddenly appearing immediately afterwards, and looking incredibly anxious.

Just as Éomer had passed Lynwen's brothers, she'd finally managed to catch up to him. She then grabbed a hold of his fore-arm to try and stop him from walking away any further, but he just spun around to face her, aggressively flinging her hand away from him.

"Don't touch me!" He shouted at her.

This caused Elladan and Estel to immediately stand up straight from their previously relaxed postures, as they witnessed this, aggressive, exchange between Lynwen and Éomer.

"What's going on?" Elladan demanded, as he started to walk the few steps to where the pair were now stood still. He was now looking at Éomer as if he was daring him to act aggressively towards Lynwen, again. He then, reluctantly, dragged his deadly stare away from Éomer before affectionately looking down at his sister. "Lynwen, is everything alright?" He asked her.

Lynwen just continued to look at Éomer, her eyes pleading with him to keep quiet. She was mentally kicking herself now, not knowing why she hadn't allowed Éomer to walk completely out of sight and ear-shot of her brothers, before she had stopped him. But now it was too late, for here she was, in the one position she didn't want to be in- members of her family being present to hear whatever it was that Éomer was going to say.

Although Elladan knew of her relationship with Elrohir, he didn't know that it had picked back up again over the last few days. What would he think of her if he knew that she'd been sleeping with Elrohir, while she had been engaged to someone else?! Maybe he'd be just as disgusted with her, as Éomer was right now! That would be awful, she though to herself. And then there was Estel. As far as Lynwen was aware, he still had no idea that there had ever been a relationship between her and Elrohir, in the first place!

She needed to try and end this conversation before it went any further! So she turned to face her brother standing behind her, before she spoke.

"Yes, Elladan, everything is fine, thank you." She said in an attempted cheerful voice, as she noticed that Estel had now come to stand beside him, looking at her with the same curiosity, and also glancing at Éomer with caution.

"Myself and Éomer just had a slight disagreement about... umm... about..." Lynwen was frantically trying to think of something to say that would deter her brothers from enquiring any further, but she just couldn't think of anything in her current, panic-stricken, state of mind. And it didn't help that Elladan and Estel were now looking at her, both of them clearly eager to hear her explanation. And now, just to make matters a million times worse, as she had her back to Éomer and was facing her brothers, she noticed her father and Arwen walking towards them, both of them obviously heading to dinner at the dining room, outside of which, this hideous situation was still taking place.

But before Lynwen could continue speaking, and just as her father and Arwen had come to a stop beside Elladan and Estel, Éomer started mock laughing before he spoke.

"You're a terrible liar!" He snarled at her, causing Lynwen to turn back around to face him again, her family now standing behind her, before he continued. "A liar, for sure! But a terrible one, at that!"

Everyone was clearly shocked by the way Éomer had just addressed Lynwen, and they all stared at him, their expressions showing their complete disbelief.

"Go on, Lynwen!" Éomer said in a raised voice, gesturing his hands at her family members standing behind her. "Tell them the truth!"

Everyone now looked to Lynwen, all of them clearly confused by what was going on. Lynwen felt her heart rate begin to beat at an uncontrollable speed, and she could feel the sweat beginning to run down her back, as she was panicking about how she was going to get herself out of this interrogation she'd suddenly found herself in.

She could only continue to stare at Éomer with a horrified expression upon her face, the anticipation of what he was going to say, momentarily disabling her from speaking. And after a few moments of this, her father, regrettably, broke the silence.

"What's going on here?!" He impatiently asked with his deep demanding voice, as he looked back and forth to Lynwen and Éomer for his answer.

But Éomer didn't break his eye-contact with Lynwen, a look of pure hatred and despise was etched into his eyes, as he answered Elrond. "Your daughter will have to answer that, for I'm still too disgusted to bring myself to say." He said with pure venom in his voice, his eyes boring right into hers.

Elrond frowned in confusion at Éomer's response, and looked to his daughter for his answer. "Lynwen?" He called to her.

Lynwen could feel all eyes upon her, eagerly awaiting an explanation, and she was now uncontrollably sweltering under her dress, too anxious and panicked to give a steady answer. She turned her gaze away from Éomer to look at her father, still trying to sound blasé about the whole situation, still hoping that she could deter them from enquiring any further.

"Umm, 'tis nothing, Ada... 'tis just... umm, 'tis just a... misunderstanding..."

Éomer burst out laughing at this. "A misunderstanding, you say? There was no _misunderstanding _what I saw!" He said as he laughed again at Lynwen's lame attempt at deterring this conversation from proceeding any further.

Elrond's impatience was growing thin now, he had no time for games, and wanted to know what had happened. "It's not good to be quarrelling so early on in your engagement! Now, will one of you tell me what is going on, and then we can finally sort this out! After all, we have a wedding we need to plan before you both leave for Rohan."

Lynwen cringed at her father's mention of their wedding. It was the worst possible thing he could have said right now! She nervously anticipated Éomer's response, still praying that she could keep her, and Elrohir's, affair a secret from everyone.

Éomer laughed again after Elrond had spoken, but it was obvious to everyone that it was a fake laugh, clearly mocking the words that Elrond had spoken.

"There will be no wedding, My Lord Elrond." Éomer said as he looked at the Lord of Rivendell standing before him, his harsh words inciting a wide-eyed, and stunned, expression from Elrond. Éomer then looked back to Lynwen, that hatred and disgust evident in his face, again. His slow, menacing, voice, emphasising the pure venom in his words as he spoke again. "There will be no wedding, for I could never bring myself to marry such a filthy, rotten whore!"

Lynwen heard Arwen gasp behind her at hearing Éomer's last words, and before Lynwen had a chance to turn her head to see the reaction of the rest of her family, Elladan had suddenly lunged himself towards Éomer, grabbing him fiercely by his collar with both of his hands, their faces, now, just inches away from each other's.

"That is no way to speak to a Lady!" Elladan snarled at Éomer, his knuckles completely white from where he was gripping Éomer's collar so tightly. But Éomer didn't seem at all fazed by Elladan's physical and verbal threat, not even attempting to free himself from his firm grip. Instead, Éomer just huffed at Elladan's words as he turned his head to the side to look at Lynwen, before he spoke again.

"She is no Lady." He said more quietly, but firmly, his voice quivering slightly from the repulsion and anger he was feeling towards Lynwen, as he looked her up and down again, making Lynwen feel as if he was examining the most vile creature he'd ever laid eyes on. Éomer then turned his head back to face Elladan, who was still gripping him tightly at the collar, before he calmly spoke.

"Now, if you don't mind, my lord," Éomer said, "I would like to go and collect my things, and leave this, forsaken, place as soon as possible. So if you would be so kind as to let me go..." Éomer said, his voice calm and steady, his expression showing that he wasn't the slightest bit fazed by Elladan's threatening behaviour.

But Elladan seemed reluctant to let go. The fact that Éomer had called his sister a whore, was still very fresh in his mind. And so his grip on Éomer's collar tightened even more as he just couldn't bring himself to let him get away with speaking to Lynwen like that. But before he could contemplate any further, Elrond spoke out, his deep voice booming around the corridor they were all still stood in.

"Elladan! Let him go!" Elrond said, his voice demanding his instruction to be respected.

Elladan, after a few more seconds of looking at Éomer with a deadly stare then, reluctantly, released his grip on his collar with a deep sigh, and slowly stood back a couple of steps, allowing Éomer enough room to walk away.

The tension amongst everyone, was filling the air in a thick invisible smog, weighing heavily on their shoulders. Lynwen almost felt as if she would suffocate under the thickness of the bad atmosphere that was currently surrounding them, the air suddenly becoming very difficult to breath. Everyone was stood in shocked silence now, and all still facing Éomer. And after what seemed like a lifetime of uncomfortable silence, Éomer reluctantly, but politely, bowed his head in gratitude to the group standing in front of him, before throwing Lynwen one more look of pure loathing, and turned away from them, heading in the direction of his chambers.

Lynwen didn't know what she was feeling at this exact moment. It seemed that every emotion that possibly existed, she was experiencing. She felt so guilty watching Éomer walking away, and knew that she deserved every harsh word that he spoken to her. She was also really shocked by Elladan's actions, realising that she had never, once, seen him act so aggressively towards anyone. She would have expected that kind of brutish behaviour from Elrohir, but never from Elladan. It made her realise that the way Éomer had spoken to her, had obviously shocked everyone, listening, at that moment, as she also remembered Arwen's gasp during the heated exchange. But Lynwen had been feeling too anxious about the possibility that her secret was about to come out, during Éomer's outburst, to notice, or even care, about his strong words towards her.

As Éomer disappeared around the corner, and was gone from everyone's sight, Lynwen knew immediately, that all eyes were now on her. She knew she was going to have to explain the reason for this very public outburst, and the fact that Éomer had now called off the engagement. She could feel her heart rate beating rapidly again, the nervous sweat, beading down her skin under her clothes, and her body temperature rising at an alarming rate. What the hell was she going to say?!

"Lynwen?" Her father's voice broke her from her panicked thoughts.

Lynwen took a deep breath, desperately trying to ready herself for what was to come, and slowly turned around to face her family. She noticed how Arwen just looked shocked and horrified, obviously still unnerved by what she had witnessed and heard, but the men were all just staring at Lynwen with a confused, but questioning, expression upon their faces, all clearly wanting an explanation. Her father's expression was the most severe, though. His eyes were boring into Lynwen's, alight with what appeared to be fury, whether that fury was aimed at her or Éomer, she wasn't too sure, and they were now sternly demanding answers from her.

Lynwen suddenly wished she could be like one of those many elleths she'd witnessed over the years. The ones who were able to switch on their tears at a second's notice, which had always seemed to earn them a one-way ticket out of the awkward situation that they desperately wanted to escape from. But no matter how hard she tried, no tears were coming for Lynwen. She then even contemplated pretend fainting, as she'd witnessed a few elleths doing that over the years, too. But she knew that wouldn't work. Her father was one of the most respected healers in Rivendell, and he would surely be able to see right through her pretence, straight away. Oh Valar! She thought to herself. How the hell am I going to get out of this?!

"Lynwen! I demand an answer!" Her father's voice made her jump, and brought her back to the horrid reality of the situation she was trapped in. She looked at her father with wide eyes, petrified in his intimidating presence. She couldn't tell him the truth! Who knew how he would react?!

But just at that moment, she looked past her family, and saw Elrohir approaching down the open-air corridor. She was facing in his direction, and could see him walking in their direction, but the others, having their backs to him, didn't see him until he'd pushed his way through the group, and came to stand next to Lynwen, turning around to also face his family.

"Elrohir, this doesn't concern you! Don't interfere!" Elrond's voice ordered his son, his finger now pointing at Elrohir.

But then, Elrohir reached down and took a hold of Lynwen's hand in his, entwining his fingers around hers, and defiantly staring his father in the eye.

"This does concern me, ada." Elrohir replied, his voice steady and confident.

Elrond's stern expression, changed to one of confusion as he looked back and forth between Lynwen and Elrohir, waiting for his son to explain. Lynwen had immediately seen the sudden realisation cross Elladan and Arwen's features, Elladan shaking his head slightly as he looked at Elrohir, clearly showing his displeasure, and disapproval. Estel still looked utterly confused by what was going on, and her father, well, her father looked like he was about to self-combust from the lack of answers he was getting!

"What's the meaning of this?!" Elrond bellowed through the corridor, as he looked upon Lynwen and Elrohir, his two children standing in front of him, one, he noticed, looked defiant, while the other just looked panicked.

Elrohir tightened his grip on Lynwen's hand, trying to reassure her that all would be ok, but he kept his eyes, sternly, fixed upon his father. He took a deep breath, readying himself for whatever was to come from the words he was about to speak.

"Ada, Lord Éomer saw myself and Lynwen... together." He immediately felt Lynwen tug at his hand as she quickly turned her head to look up at him. He looked down at her to see that her face looked completely stunned by what he had just said, and she started shaking her head at him, warning him not to continue on with his admission. But he just brought her hand up to his mouth and placed a gentle kiss on the back of her fingers. "It's alright, Lynwen." He whispered as he looked into her eyes. "It's time they all knew." He then gave her a slight reassuring smile, before turning his head back to face his father. "Ada, myself and Lynwen have been romantically involved for a number of weeks now, since myself and Elladan came back from the expedition. We didn't intend for everyone to find out like this, but..." He turned his head to look down at Lynwen again, before continuing on, "...but we're both serious about this relationship, and we want to remain together."

Lynwen hadn't turned to face Elrohir at his last words, instead she couldn't remove her gaze from her father, and remained transfixed upon his face, awaiting his reaction. But she was surprised to see that her father's expression hadn't actually changed, and instead, had just remained stern, and still staring at Elrohir. She guessed that he was probably trying to process the information that he had just been given, and still held her breath for a possible, delayed, reaction.

While her father remained silent, and clearly contemplating the news, she stole a quick glance at her brothers and Arwen, and noticed that Elladan and Arwen didn't look at all surprised, and even looked a little angry as they looked at Elrohir. But Estel's expression was the best! It was obvious that he had had no idea about this relationship until this very moment, by the way his mouth was hanging open, and his face looked completely stunned as he stared at her and Elrohir.

But Lynwen's attention was brought back to her father, by the noise of his feet shifting on the ground, and noticed that he'd moved his position slightly. She saw how his expression softened a little as he now looked to her with a slight look of what, appeared to be, admiration in his eyes. But after only a moment, he then turned his attention back to Elrohir, that stern expression back on his face.

"Elrohir, may we talk, please?" Elrond said, as he gestured his arm down the corridor.

Elrohir nodded his agreement at his father before turning to face Lynwen, his hands now moving up to cup her face as he spoke quietly to her. "Everything will be alright, little one, I promise." He said softly, reassuring her with a slight smile. Lynwen just nodded a little at his words, before Elrohir dropped his hands from her face and turned to face his father again, waiting for Elrond to lead the way.

Elrond turned away from the group, and started walking down the corridor in the direction of his study. Elrohir looked to Lynwen one last time, sending her a wink and a smile, before he followed after his father, leaving her standing there in front of her other siblings, the awkward silence still hanging thickly on the air around them.

Lynwen looked to the three stood in front of her, unsure of what to say to them, and worried about what they were going to say to her. Elladan was the first to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Lynwen, it's not too late to try and make amends with Éomer. If you go now..."

But he was cut off by Lynwen's rising voice. "Elladan, my engagement to Éomer is well and truly over. Trust me, there is no chance of ever repairing that damage. But I am with Elrohir now, so please, can you just accept that?!"

Elladan looked a little taken aback by Lynwen's brash response, and remained silent for a few moments before finally collecting himself. He sighed deeply in frustration at the stubbornness of his little sister standing before him, knowing that this relationship between her and Elrohir, could only end badly. "Lynwen, please." He said calmly, desperately hoping that he could make her see sense. "I fear that what you have with Elrohir, will only end in heartache. Please will you just reconsider..."

"No, Elladan, I have made my choice." Lynwen cut him off again, her eyes like daggers, piercing right through Elladan's being. "And so has Elrohir." She said a little quieter, but with no less confidence sounding in her voice. Lynwen's expression then softened a little as she continued to look upon Elladan, her face now just showing her hurt. "Why can't you just be happy for us? Why are you making it your business to try and keep us apart? I just don't understand you." She said, before she pushed her way through her three siblings, and walked away from them, heading back towards the gardens that she had just come from.

"Muinthel!" Arwen called after her, but Lynwen didn't look around at her sister's call, and instead chose to ignore her and continue walking away, desperately needing some time alone to gather her thoughts.

The sun had now set, and the first stars were beginning to come out in to the dusk-filled sky above. Lynwen had stopped at a large stretch of grassland, and was laying on her back amongst a patch of white lunar flowers, that were just starting to bloom in the early moonlight, and she was gazing upwards as she watched the night sky beginning to come alive. She felt comfortably secluded here, and the flowers were helping to keep her well hidden from everyone, as she was in no mood to speak to people right now. All she wanted was Elrohir by her side, the two of them left alone with no one trying to force them apart. Her thoughts drifted to what her father was possibly saying to Elrohir at this moment, and her stomach turned at what the outcome of that conversation could be. She was sure that her father would do his best to put a stop to this relationship, and it pained her greatly to think of her romance with Elrohir, being brought to an end.

But she was broken from her thoughts by a bit of commotion coming from the upper levels of the city. She turned her head in that direction to see if she could see what was going on, but kept herself hidden behind the lunar flowers, that were now swaying ever so slightly in the warm, evening, Spring breeze. She recognised Éomer straight away, his strong, broad form, looking unmistakably human. She could see that he had retrieved his horse, and was now ensuring that the last of his things were packed up, and ready to depart. The commotion, she then noticed, was coming from Alric, Éomer's advisor, and she could see him packing up and preparing his own horse, but could just about make out that he was trying to reason with Éomer, trying to convince him to wait until daylight before departing. But she was too far away to hear what was being said, exactly, and knew for a fact that Éomer wouldn't stay in Rivendell a minute longer than he had to, even if that meant risking the safety of his men by travelling at night.

Her heart suddenly flooded with guilt again as she saw his climb atop his horse, followed by Alric and the rest of their entourage, before signalling to everyone to start making their way out of Rivendell. Still laying down in the grass, and remaining hidden behind the lunar flowers, she continued to observe him, unable to stop the stabbing of her heart as she watched his retreating back, wondering if he would ever be able to move on and find happiness with another. And she also wondered if he would ever be able to find it in himself to finally forgive her. But then, that probably didn't matter, because the chances of them ever meeting again, was very unlikely, what with her living in Rivendell, and him living in Rohan. No, we definitely won't see each other, ever again! She finally concluded to herself, unable to think of any possible reasons as to why their paths could ever end up crossing again, in the future...

Meanwhile, in Elrond's study, the conversation between him and Elrohir was getting a lot more audible. Elrond was intent on making his disapproval of this relationship, known, but Elrohir, as ever, was refusing to listen. Feeling a little defeated, and wondering if by lowering his tone, this may make his son listen to him, Elrond slumped down in his chair behind his desk, and took a deep breath while trying to calm himself.

"Ion nin." Elrond said quietly while looking back up at Elrohir, who was standing at the opposite side of the desk. "Do you know where I was before I came upon that hideous situation out in the corridor, this evening?"

Elrohir just shook his head in response, waiting for his father to continue.

"Well, I was with Arwen, discussing Estel's recent request to grant him permission to take her hand in marriage."

Elrohir couldn't hide his shocked expression at hearing this, not even knowing that there had even been anything going on between those two. But he remained silent, awaiting for his father to continue.

"It seems that Arwen has pretty much made her mind up on this, and that no amount of persuasion from me, will make her change her mind. And so, I have suddenly found myself in a situation where I may end up losing my dear daughter to the 'gift of men', in the very near future." Elrond looked down at the floor now, the hurt he was clearly feeling at this news, evident in his face. "And now I discover that my son may very well end up suffering the same fate as well, and that I could end up losing him too."

Elrohir took a few steps towards his father's desk, and stopped just in front of it. He hated to see his father so hurt, and found that he was sharing in a bit of grief himself, at the thought that Arwen had possibly sacrificed her immortality, and could very well end up dying with Estel, in the near future.

And he hated to think that he had now added to his father's pain, by also declaring his feelings for a mortal.

But Elrohir could understand Arwen's decision, because he knew what it was like to have feelings for someone that are so strong, that even their mortality isn't enough to deter you from wanting to spend every waking moment with them.

He noticed his father was still looking down at the floor, his shoulders slumped in defeat, and his mind clearly dwelling somewhere other than in the room they were both present in.

"Ada." Elrohir broke the silence. "I'm sorry to hear that Arwen may end up leaving us one day, for I also feel your grief at the possible loss of my beloved sister." Elrohir sighed at the sorrowful sight of his father, before continuing. "But I'm not sorry that Arwen has found love."

Elrond's head snapped back up to look at his son, his expression now changed to one of slight anger.

"Elrohir, do you realise what it is that Arwen has forsaken? It is what you will end up forsaking if you continue on this relationship with Lynwen!" Elrond's voice had become slightly more raised again.

"I cannot help whom I fall in love with, Ada!" Elrohir replied angrily, but at the same time, suddenly realising his true feelings for Lynwen. He thought for a moment before he spoke again, but more quietly this time. "I... love her." He said confidently.

But Elrond just burst out laughing at his son's admission of love, clearly patronising Elrohir. "Ion nin, you know not the meaning of that word. You've spent most of your life taking different women into your bed chambers, and not giving them a second thought afterwards! And you claim to be in love with Lynwen? The very woman, who's reputation, you've just completely destroyed, and who's name will now, only, be used for insults? The very woman who's only chance of complete happiness with her own kind, has now been selfishly taken away from her, by your constant need to keep your bed warm?"

Elrond now cocked his head at his son, his patronising smile now replaced with a look of mocking confusion. "And yet, I find it very strange that you thought nothing of abandoning the very woman that you claim to love. How is that so, if you feel so strongly for her?" Elrond asked his son, his patronising tone back again.

Elrohir could feel his temper rising rapidly at his feelings being ridiculed by his father, but tried his best to contain his rage as he answered. "I was ordered to go on the expedition, ada. It was my duty. I hardly call that _abandoning _Lynwen." Elrohir replied quietly, his hands trembling from the fury raging through his veins.

Elrond's face straightened into a placid expression that seemed to be vacant of the emotions that were evident just moments before, and was now very difficult to read. He leaned forward in his chair slightly, before speaking. "I'm not talking about the expedition, Elrohir. I'm talking about when you abandoned Lynwen in the last couple of weeks." Elrond paused for a few moments while leaning back in his chair again, his eyes still focused on his son. "I know you more than you know yourself, Elrohir, and I knew that the moment I announced that Lord Éomer would be arriving to claim Lynwen's hand, that you'd be off like a shot! And I was right! It's what you've always done best, Elrohir. You just take off when something doesn't go your way..."

"You knew about myself and Lynwen?" Elrohir cut his father off.

Elrond stared at his son for a few moments, before answering quietly. "Yes, I knew." Was all he said, his expression still not easy to read. "But I thought it had ended when Lord Éomer had arrived."

"But... how did you know?" Elrohir was so confused by how his father had always known about this romance but had never confronted either of them about it.

Elrond took a deep breath before he spoke. "I had my suspicions within days of you and Elladan arriving back from the expedition. The way you and Lynwen would steal glances at each other across the dinner table confirmed to me that there were intentions. And it was when Anira came to talk to me about her concerns that she was repeatedly finding Lynwen's bed empty when she went to rouse her in the mornings, then caused my suspicions to intensify. But it was when Lindir saw Lynwen sneaking out of your bedroom early one morning, that my suspicions were finally confirmed."

Elrohir was stunned by his father's admission. He'd thought he'd been so careful to keep their relationship a secret.

"Why didn't you confront us about it, before?" He asked his father, still very stunned from Elrond's admission that he'd always known about them.

"Because knowing how strong-headed you both are, I knew that if I tried to intervene and stop the relationship from developing any further, then it would have only encouraged you both to continue on with it even more. And so, after Anira had intensified my suspicions about the two of you, I decided that the best option would be for me to send word for Lord Éomer to arrive earlier than originally planned, and hope that his marriage proposal, followed by Lynwen's move to Rohan, would be enough to end your relationship." Elrond said, his voice sounding completely blasé about the revelation of his plan to, cruelly, end their romance.

Elrohir's anger was rising to a dangerous high, again. He couldn't believe the way his father was, so casually, revealing what his plan had been to try and end his and Lynwen's romance, as if it was something of no importance, a mere nuisance that needed to be destroyed. He also felt so hurt that his father clearly had no faith in their relationship, and no belief of Elrohir's love for Lynwen, and obviously seemed to think that it could never last.

"Why do you take Arwen's love for Estel seriously, but not my love for Lynwen?" Elrohir asked his father quietly, his voice seething through his gritted teeth due to his rage.

Elrond just looked at his son for a few moments, and could clearly see the hurt in his son's eyes hidden behind his anger. He sighed at having been the cause of the hurt that Elrohir was feeling at that moment, but knew it was necessary to try and make him see sense.

"Ion nin." Elrond started to speak with a deep sigh. "You tend to jump head first into things, without thinking about the consequences, first. It's always been your way, ever since you were an elfling. But for once, I need you to take a step back, and truly take a look at what it is you're considering with Lynwen. As I said before, I know you better than you know yourself, Elrohir, and I don't doubt that you _think _you love Lynwen..."

"I _do _love her!" Elrohir interrupted his father.

Elrond sighed heavily at his son's reluctance to listen to him, and reached his hand up to his head, rubbing his brow in frustration. "Elrohir, will you please just listen to me! You're allowing yourself to get carried away with this relationship, when you don't even know if this is, truly, what you want!"

"How many times do I have to repeat myself, ada!" Elrohir shouted in retaliation. "Lynwen, _is _what I want! And I know that the feelings I hold for her, are true to my heart!"

"That's just it, Elrohir!" Elrond responded with the same agitation as his son. "You are only acting on impulse, being solely guided by these feelings that have recently consumed your heart. But these feelings can be misleading, especially so early on! I mean, you've only been back from the expedition a few weeks, and already you're claiming to be _in love _with Lynwen? Ion nin, it takes longer for something like that to develop, and I fear that, once again, you are allowing yourself to get carried away without truly thinking this through." Elrond took a deep breath after he'd finished speaking, feeling as though he'd just said all that in just one breath.

But Elrohir still refused to listen. "I don't need to think it through, ada!"

"Oh, but I think you do, Elrohir." Elrond's voice had become more stern now, his frustration at his son, becoming more apparent. "Because, if you pledge yourself to Lynwen, you will surely die when she does." Elrond's eyes were staring straight at Elrohir now, showing a mixture of anger, and what appeared to be, sheer panic. "Elrohir, please re-consider this! I fear that I will, already, lose Arwen to certain death. Please don't let me lose you too!" Elrond was now desperate to make his son change his mind about this relationship, and hoped that his last words may just sway him.

But it was to no avail. "I'm sorry, ada, truly I am. But I love Lynwen, and I intend on spending the rest of her life with her." Elrohir calmly replied, feeling a little regretful at having to go against his father's wishes, and causing him even more hurt.

But at hearing Elrohir's final words on the matter, Elrond suddenly stood up, pushing his chair backwards in the process, and slammed his hands down on the table in front of him as he leaned forward towards his son.

"I WILL NOT ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN!" Elrond shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice booming around the study, making the very air that they breathed, vibrate violently around them. His utter desperation and anger, all spilling out of his mouth uncontrollably in a last, desperate, attempt to try and end his son's, almost certain, death sentence.

But Elrond's extremely loud demand, only encouraged Elrohir's determination to be with Lynwen, and his pure rage to engulf his body, even more. And he too, leant forward, resting his hands on the desk, his face now just inches from his father's, before he snarled quietly through gritted teeth.

"It already has, ada. And there is nothing you can do about it." Elrohir said firmly and quietly, his eyes boring into his father's.

And at that, Elrohir pushed himself back to an upright position before turning from his father and exiting the study, slamming the door closed behind him with such a force, that it caused the many paintings adorning the walls, to shake and vibrate.

Elrond continued leaning on the table with his hands and staring at the door that Elrohir has just exited from, feeling nothing but pure ferocity at his son's determination to continue on with this relationship. He took a few, quick, sharp breaths, before he defiantly responded to his son's words, with a threat.

"We'll just see about that!" Elrond uttered under his breath.


	14. Parting of the Ways

_**Warning- This chapter contains mature adult content.**_

Chapter 14 - Parting of the Ways

As the next few months passed, so came one of the hottest summers that Rivendell had experienced in over a decade. The gardens that adorned the city, were in full bloom, displaying vast arrays of a variety of flowers, colouring the landscape like a shattered rainbow. The trees were spread out throughout the grasslands, tall, and coloured in deep shades of green, the leaves thick, and strong. The air was filled with the sweet aroma of the plants, and the scent of the freshly cut grass, both mixed with the smell of the mineral-rich waters that cascaded down the surrounding valleys, spraying the air with their much needed cool, clear mist.

Although the strong rays of the sun had brought a lot of life to the plants of Rivendell, ensuring the city's magnificent beauty remained as striking as ever, it seemed to be having the opposite effect on the residents, only forcing them to seek shelter and shade. Life in the elven city had come to a very slow pace, and even a complete stand still at times, as the residents tried to cope with the intense heat that was engulfing the realm.

But for Elrohir and Lynwen, the summer so far, had been just like the one they had shared together before Elrohir left for the expedition, when Lynwen had been just five years old. Just like they did all those years before, they refused to let the heat stop them from enjoying their time together, and took advantage of the dry weather and the warm evenings, which they usually spent on top of the valley, watching the sun set in the distance, relishing in each other's company.

But the last few months hadn't been plain sailing, at all. They both had had to cope with their family's disapproval of their relationship, with their father and siblings, refusing to acknowledge the romance in any way.

Their father had never made any reference to them as a couple, and always seemed to turn in the opposite direction if he saw the pair approaching. It was very clear that he disagreed with this relationship, and couldn't even bring himself to acknowledge it any way. And this upset Lynwen greatly. But Elrohir didn't seem at all fazed by his father's pretend ignorance, not caring about his ada's opinion, one bit!

But what did upset Elrohir greatly, was the way Elladan had also completely snubbed their relationship. Elladan had never mentioned, or even acknowledged it, to either of them since that frightful day within the open-air corridor, as if he was also refusing to accept it. Elrohir's strong bond with his twin had always been completely unbreakable, both of them having always been so close for all of their long lives, and it hurt him a great deal to think that his older twin may never be happy for him.

Estel seemed only to remain silent about the subject due to his feeling uncomfortable and awkward about the whole situation, and not because he disapproved of their relationship. But then again, how could he disapprove when he was, after all, still trying to convince Elrond to allow him to marry Arwen!

And Arwen had only acknowledged their relationship once, at that was a few days after Éomer had left Rivendell, where she had had a private conversation with Lynwen. It had been Arwen's last desperate attempt to end the romance between Lynwen and Elrohir, fearing that her sister could end up getting hurt if it continued, what with Elrohir's unpredictable, and sometimes selfish, personality. She also confided in Lynwen about her determination to marry Estel, and told her how it was upsetting her greatly to think of how their father was going to cope after she passes, as she surely will after Estel dies. She reminded Lynwen that, if Elrohir did decide to continue on with this relationship, then he would also suffer the same fate of death, after Lynwen dies. And this conversation with her sister, had momentarily successfully impacted Lynwen, for she had then attempted to break off the relationship with Elrohir that very night, feeling utterly guilty that his love for her could result in him dying of a broken heart. But Elrohir wouldn't listen to her, and had refused to end it, stating that the sacrifice of his immortality was his choice to make, and that he loved her too much to just walk away from her.

And so, much to the dismay of their family, their relationship continued on. And Elrohir and Lynwen had spent the last few months ensuring that their every waking moment was spent together, taking what little comfort they could find, in the fact that their relationship was no longer a secret and that, they at least had each other.

But although Lynwen had felt completely content with Elrohir over the last few months, she had also been made to feel even more isolated in her homeland, than ever before. After that frightful evening where Éomer had discovered them together, and then left Rivendell in a hurry, it didn't take long for word to get around Imladris of what had transpired on that day. The elves had always been really cold towards Lynwen over the years, most of them even completely blanking her without so much as a "Hello", as she passed them by. But now, instead of being ignored, she would hear the elves whispering amongst themselves every time she passed them by, with most of the elleths sending her deadly stares as they did so. She knew a lot of it was just jealousy, knowing that Elrohir had always been one of the most eligible bachelors in Rivendell, if not _the _most! He was never short of female attention, and the one's that he used to invite into his bed chambers, would consider themselves the luckiest elleths in all of Middle Earth, even when he'd never have anything to do with them, the morning after.

But what Elrohir had with Lynwen, was different. It was passionate, it was intense, it was love. And the elleths throughout Rivendell, knew this, and so they couldn't help but feel anything but hatred and loathing, towards Lynwen, truly believing that, as a mere mortal, she had no right to be claiming the heart of one of their ellons. And a lot of them even felt repulsed by the very thought of Elrohir choosing to be intimate with a mortal.

And so, the months leading up to the present, had been more difficult for Lynwen, than the previous eighteen years of her life. She'd always longed to leave Rivendell temporarily at some point and explore the world outside. But now, she found herself wanting to leave her home permanently. No more, could she stand the hateful stares, the uncomfortable awkward silences, or the quiet, cruel whispering, every time she passed the elves by. And so, she decided that she would speak to Elrohir about her idea, hoping that they could leave Rivendell together.

It was now late July, and currently mid-afternoon, the hottest part of the day, leaving only the confinements of your dwelling, or the cool shade of a tree, the only sensible place to be.

At this particular moment, Lynwen and Elrohir were lying in the shade of a willow tree on the bank of the river, with Elrohir lying on his back in the grass, one of his knees bent upwards, and his other leg lying flat along the ground. He had one of his arms resting behind his head, as he silently gazed upwards through the branches of the willow, watching the blue, cloudless sky above. Lynwen was also lying on her back, but was positioned horizontally to Elrohir, resting her head on his stomach, and was reading a novel that was written in Quenya, which she had been instructed to read as part of her language studies.

The tree was providing a much needed shade from the sun's direct rays, but the intense heat could still be felt, causing everything to become silent and unmoving, leaving only the gentle flow of the river, and the occasional bumblebee overhead, as the only things that could be heard. But it wasn't an eerie silence. It was actually a very comfortable silence, as if all the living creatures, and elements, of Middle-Earth, shared a common longing to rest, and to remain completely still, surrendering to the strength of the sun.

Lynwen had recognised the willow tree that they were laying under, immediately, as the very willow that her and Elrohir had almost shared a kiss under a couple of days after he'd arrived back from the expedition. She remembered back to that morning now, thinking about how it had been one of the most wonderfully exciting moments of her life, and wondered if Elrohir had recognised this willow, too.

But she was brought back from her thoughts by Elrohir's fingers, gently stroking their way through her hair, as he continued to look up towards the sky.

"You're not reading your book?" He asked in a quiet, lethargic voice, the heat obviously affecting his energy levels too.

"No, I was just thinking..." She answered with a sigh. "...about us."

Elrohir lifted his head up off the ground to look down at Lynwen, lying at his midriff, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"What about us?" He asked with a little bit more energy in his voice.

Lynwen turned her head to face him, but still kept her head rested on his stomach. She could see that Elrohir was looking a little worried, at her comments.

"No, nothing bad." She quickly reassured him. "I was just thinking about the last time me and you were under this very tree. Do you remember?" She asked him with a trace of enthusiasm in her voice.

Elrohir smiled widely now, his gaze on her, relaxing to one of compassion. "Aye, I remember." He said as he thought back to that particular morning. "And I seriously thought I'd messed everything up between us later on that day, when we were on the practice field. Do you remember _that_?" He asked, with his smile still upon his face.

Lynwen smiled too, now. "Ro, how could I forget! I enjoyed every second of it until, that is, I felt... you... poking me, in my behind!"

They both burst out laughing at this, with Lynwen quickly continuing on. "You scared the living day lights out of me! Or, at least..." She gestured her head slightly towards his lower half. "_that _did, anyway." She said, as they both continued laughing.

"Aye, but you weren't so scared of it later on that night!" Elrohir said, with a raise of one of his eyebrows, his smile now changed to one of mischief.

Lynwen only laughed in response, knowing that there was no denying his statement. She turned her head away from him and looked up into the branches of the willow, watching the odd bird fly over, as she rested her opened book upon her chest.

Elrohir could sense that there was something else on her mind, seeing that far-away look upon her face, knowing that whatever she was pondering about, was obviously plaguing her mind. "What else were you thinking about?" He asked her, his head still lifted from the ground as he looked down at her, a little concerned.

Lynwen turned her head again to face him, wondering how to put her words together. She looked at him for a few moments before she spoke. "I've just been thinking about how all the other elves have reacted to me and you."

Elrohir raised a quizzical brow at her, awaiting her to continue. Lynwen took a deep breath before speaking again. "Well, more so, about how they've reacted towards me. I mean, they've never been very warm towards me, but these last few months, they've been acting a lot more coldly. I hear them whispering about me, and I catch them staring at me, and even openly laughing at me..."

"I'm sorry, Lynwen." Elrohir interrupted her with his soft, smooth, voice, his fingers continuing to stroke her hair. "I wish I could make it stop..." He sighed deeply now, before he continued. "...but, I'm afraid that it will probably always be like this for you. The elves in general can be very welcoming to others, but for them to accept one, permanently, seems an almost impossible task..." He trailed off now, wondering how to find the right words that would make this better for Lynwen, but knowing that he was failing miserably. But before he could continue, Lynwen interrupted him.

"Why don't we just leave? Me and you. Why don't we leave Imladris, and make somewhere else our home?!" Lynwen said with hope and enthusiasm in her voice.

This prompted Elrohir to sit up from his laying position, forcing Lynwen to do the same, as they were now both sat upright on the grass, facing each other. Elrohir looked a little stunned by Lynwen's proposition, and remained silent for a few moments, before he eventually spoke.

"Go... where?" He asked, his voice sounding a bit unsure about the whole thing.

Lynwen shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, for I've never been outside of Imladris. But you have!" She leant towards him now, her face showing her excitement at the idea. "You've been all over Middle Earth, Ro, so you must have some idea as to where would be a good place for us to go to!"

Elrohir was still a little surprised by the idea, but he knew that he wanted to do everything in his power to ensure Lynwen's happiness. And he hated the thought that she was being put through these difficulties by the other elves, even finding himself wanting to hunt down the culprits responsible for her misery.

But then, this had always been his home. He knew every square inch of Rivendell, every tree, every waterfall, all the secret hideaways... Elrohir was well travelled, and he'd seen what all the other lands and realms of Middle Earth had to offer, and knew that none compared to the magnificence and beauty of his homeland. He just loved living here.

He looked now at the hopeful expression upon Lynwen's face, suddenly finding himself fighting an inner battle within himself. He wanted her to be happy, he knew that. But would he be able to give up his home for her? Could the feelings he was holding for Lynwen, really be enough to make him give up all that he knew?

Lynwen could see the slight doubt in his face, and suddenly started to regret her suggestion. She knew it was something that she didn't have to think twice about but, it seemed, Elrohir was different.

"Forget I said anything." Lynwen said, with a dismissive wave of her hand, hoping that this could all be forgotten about to spare her, her embarrassment.

"No, Lynwen, I'm sorry. You just took me by surprise, is all." Elrohir said quickly. He looked at her affectionately now, loving the way she had turned a bit red due to her embarrassment, which only added to the slight sunburn she had caught on her nose and forehead, a couple of days previous. He reached out for her hand, taking it in his as he continued speaking. "I'll go wherever you want to go. If you wish us to leave Imladris, then so be it." He said with a slight smile upon his face.

Lynwen studied him for a moment, unsure of whether he was serious about this, or whether he was just trying to pacify her. "Ro, I don't want you doing this if you don't want to. You seemed doubtful when I suggested it..."

"I'm certain." He interrupted her, giving her hand a gentle squeeze of reassurance. "But I'm to travel up north with Elladan and Estel in a couple of weeks." He said suddenly, before continuing. "So we will have to decide where we want to move to, after I come back."

Lynwen was still unsure about whether Elrohir really wanted to leave, and wondered if she was asking too much of him. But Lynwen knew that she, herself, would happily give up everything for him, but wondered if he felt the same way as she did, about their relationship? But she mentally shook herself at this thought. Of course he does! He's told me so, so many times! She thought to herself. She pushed any doubts to the back of her mind, before enquiring about his journey up north.

"How long will you be gone?" She asked, wishing that he didn't have to leave at all.

"It's hard to say." He said with a sigh, looking upwards as he was contemplating her question. "There's talk of darkness and evil descending upon some regions. I even saw some of it myself, during the expedition, and so, we could be gone a number of weeks, or even a number of months, depending on what we find and how much assistance is needed." He looked back to Lynwen now, seeing her looking a little concerned. "Tis nothing to worry about, little one." He said while he cupped her cheek with his hand. "I'm sure that the darkness will not spread this far, or come to affect your life in any way. You're safe." He softly reassured her, smiling gently, before leaning in to place a feather light kiss upon her lips.

After he pulled away from their brief embrace, Lynwen stared straight into his eyes, as if trying to read what was going on behind them.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" He asked her, a little nervously.

"Ro..." Lynwen took a deep breath, trying to prepare herself for what she was going to ask. "...Are you absolutely certain that... I... am what you want?"

Elrohir furrowed his brow in confusion as he looked back at her, but was unable to respond due to Lynwen quickly speaking again.

"It's just that, I've been warned so many times about how you can quickly change your mind about things, and..."

But Lynwen was cut off by Elrohir's rapidly raising voice.

"Do you consider yourself to be just a _thing_?" He emphasised the last word, furiously repeating Lynwen's accusation.

Lynwen froze, realising that she'd accidentally awoken Elrohir's fiery temperament. And feeling too hot and lethargic, herself, to find any energy to argue back, she tried to think of the best way to calm the conversation down, as she nervously began to speak again.

"Well... no... of course not..."

But she was cut off again by Elrohir's still loud, and angered, voice.

"And I presume it is our siblings, with whom you are discussing such slander about me?!" He asked sternly, his voice almost a shout.

"Ro, please calm down." Lynwen spoke quietly, hoping she could bring the volume of their conversation down a level, or two. "I'm just a little worried. I mean, you can't deny that you've had an array of women in your life, and I'm concerned that I'm just another to add to your, still unfinished, collection." She said, looking down at the ground, bracing herself for a possible eruption from the unpredictable character, sat beside her.

But she was surprised when Elrohir gently placed his hand upon her cheek, turning her head to look at him, his eyes brewing a mixture of emotions as he looked upon her. He sighed heavily in frustration, before he spoke.

"Lynwen, how many times do we have to talk about this? What I have with you, is really special. All those others are nothing compared to you!"

"Not even Raina?" She interrupted him with her blunt question.

Elrohir's expression dropped at the sudden reminder of the elleth responsible for encasing his heart in ice. The elleth, whom he had devoted himself to completely an utterly, had then hurt him beyond imagination. The elleth who had prevented him from becoming close to anyone since, for fear of having his heart trampled on again.

He continued to stare at Lynwen, his face now vacant of any kind of affection or warmth, and he dropped his hand from the side of Lynwen's face. She suddenly regretted mentioning Raina's name, wondering if she'd just brought back a lot of hurtful memories for Elrohir, and wondered how this reminder may affect their own relationship.

"Ro, I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."

"Why do you speak of her?" Elrohir's words were cold and stern, interrupting Lynwen, mid-sentence. His eyes were dark with anger, as they bored into hers.

Lynwen looked into his eyes for a few moments, before she spoke. "Ro, I didn't mean to upset you in any way, and I'm sorry if hearing her name has brought back some painful memories for you, but, I wonder if... I mean... I'm concerned about whether... what we have, will ever be able to rival what you had with her. I know that you loved her very much." She said, as she looked down at the ground again, not sure what emotions her words may have awoken in Elrohir. But knowing it was necessary, to try to rid her heart of any doubts she'd been carrying, about his feelings for her.

After a few moments, she had still not gotten an answer from him, and turned her head to look at him, seeing that he was sat completely still, and staring straight out at the empty space in front of him. It amazed Lynwen that, even after two thousand years, Elrohir was still clearly affected by Raina, and she wondered if all elves' hearts were this fragile. She knew she needed to bring him out of the trance he appeared to be in.

"Ro?" She quietly called to him.

Elrohir turned his head to look at Lynwen after hearing her voice, his expression looking a little angry, and full of resentment. Lynwen wondered if that look was aimed at her, or at Raina, and started to get a little worried when he continued to stare at her, but didn't speak.

"Ro, are you ok?" She asked, her voice still quiet. "Are you... angry with me?" She questioned.

Elrohir looked at her for a few more moments before his expression softened slightly, and a look of admiration now crossed his features, as he looked at the young woman sat before him. The woman, whom had managed to do what no one else had been able to achieve, and break through the ice that had encased his heart for the last two millennia. He leaned forward and placed his hand on the side of Lynwen's head, brushing his fingers through her loose hair, and pushing it back from her face before he answered her question. "No, not at you." He reassured her with a soft smile before he continued. "And yes, I did love Raina very much, but that was a very long time ago and all I seem to feel for her now, is pure loathing. But what I have with you is really special, for I know, and I can sense, that you feel just as strongly for me, as I do for you. And I honestly believe that, what we have together, is truly unbreakable." He placed his free hand at the other side of Lynwen's head, bringing their faces closer together before he softly spoke again. "I love you, Lynwen. And no one will ever be able to tear us apart." He then closed the gap between them, and kissed her slowly and softly.

Lynwen, as she always did under his kisses, instantly forgot about any of her doubts and worries, and felt completely reassured under his touches.

xxx

And so, the following two weeks passed by blissfully, with Elrohir and Lynwen never leaving each other's company, both of them taking advantage of what little time they had left together, before Elrohir had to leave for the north. They never had a single night apart, always ensuring that they were in each other's arms, even during sleep. And they had even spent many a day remaining in bed together long into the afternoons, making slow, passionate love to each other, despite the, still, very intense summer heat draining them of most of their energy. But they were just unable to get enough of each other. Their constant need to be joined to the other, always dictating their actions and emotions.

And so, the day before Elrohir was due to leave for the north with Elladan and Estel, had regretfully arrived. Elrohir had been busy all that day getting preparations under way for the journey, which left Lynwen to continue on with her studies. She was finding it so difficult to concentrate on the books in front of her, unable to stop the stabbing of her heart at the thought that it could be months before she'd see Elrohir again. It was unbearable for her to think that she would have to be separated from him for that long, and wasn't sure how she was going to be able to cope with his absence due to the fact that he was, as well as her lover, her only friend in the world. She silently prayed that he would only need to be gone for a few weeks instead of a number months, hoping that the Valar would answer her prayers.

It was early evening now, and the sun was making it's descent towards the horizon. Elrohir had finished finalizing the plans with his brothers, and preparing for their early morning departure, and was now searching for Lynwen. After looking in both of their bed chambers, and in a few of the common areas of the main residences, he concluded that she must have made her way up to the top of the valley for the setting of the sun. He swiftly made his way across the city, and across of a couple of the lower level gardens, before he reached the base of the hillside. It took him only minutes to ascend to their favourite spot, but was baffled when he could see that Lynwen was not there. He sat down next to the small stream, that quietly trickled down the hillside, and wondered if Lynwen was just, momentarily, held up somewhere, and that she would come and join him as soon as possible. And so, he got himself comfortable, and decided to wait there for her.

It had been a good hour since the sun had set, and Lynwen had still not arrived. The orange colours in the sky that symbolised the end of another day, were now replaced by a navy blue, that was slightly smeared by the silver glow of the moonlight. Elrohir started to become a little concerned with Lynwen's absence, knowing that a pack of wild horses wouldn't be able to keep her from spending their last night together.

So he suddenly stood up, deciding that he was going to go in search of her. But just as he was about to leave down the hillside, he caught movement in the corner of his eye. He looked down into the valley below, and could see someone standing at the river's edge. With his elven eyesight, the lack of sunlight and the far distance, was not a hindrance to him, and he could see clearly that it was Lynwen standing on the river bank, gazing at the water flowing in front of her. He turned from his position, and quickly made his way down the hillside and through the city and gardens, heading for the river at the base of the valley.

It only took him a matter of minutes to reach her, but he couldn't help but to stop and hide behind a nearby tree, wanting to gaze upon her with no interruptions, trying to etch her image into his mind so he'd always have her to look upon during his travels to the north. He was hiding just to the side of her so he could only partially see her face, which was partly covered by her loose, dark brown hair, waving chaotically as it came to rest just below her shoulders.

It was a very warm night, with not even a slight breeze to bring a little comfort, and so her hair remained completely unmoving, framing her face in a way that promoted her prominent cheek bones, and exaggerated the pale colour of her skin. She was wearing a white, loose fitted buttoned shirt, and a pair of sand-coloured breeches, that he thought he recognised as his own! They definitely weren't hers, for they were much too big for her. And he could see that she had a brown belt tightly fastened around her slim waist, ensuring that the breeches would not fall down. Most people would think that she looked a complete mess in the clothes that she was wearing at that moment, but Elrohir always found her 'masculine' taste in clothes, incredibly sexy. It showed how she wasn't like the other females he knew, who were always making it their priority to look immaculate, which bored Elrohir immensely. Instead, Lynwen's unusual taste in clothes, emphasised her adventurous spirit that Elrohir loved so much, and showed that she was a natural, rugged beauty, which he much preferred compared to the mundane, flawless perfection, of all the elleths.

After a few minutes of secretly admiring her, he quietly came out from behind the tree he'd been hiding behind and silently walked up to her, gently wrapping his arms around her waist from his position behind her.

Lynwen jumped at Elrohir's touch, and instinctively turned her head to look at who had crept up on her, but felt instant relief at seeing Elrohir there smiling at her.

"Oh Elbereth! You nearly gave me a heart attack, Ro!" She said, as she turned her head away from him to face the river again.

Elrohir just leant his chin upon her shoulder, smiling into her neck at his ability to be able to creep up on her unnoticed. "I waited for you on the valley, tonight. Why didn't you come?" He asked her, his face still buried in the side of her neck.

"Sorry, Ro, I completely lost track of the time. I came down here early this evening, while you were still with Elladan and Estel, and I just started thinking."

"About what?" He whispered into her ear.

"About all the times we spent together in the past." Lynwen smiled as she reminisced to herself again about her early childhood spent with Elrohir. "This heat wave that we're experiencing at the moment, has caused me to think about that summer we had together, before you and Elladan left for the expedition. It was the best summer of my life!" She said, as her face broke out into an even greater smile.

Elrohir couldn't help but smile widely too, as he was also reminded of that most memorable period. "Aye, we seemed to be the only ones unaffected by the heat." He said, as he started to laugh a little. "And the heat definitely did nothing to deter your energy levels. You were still intent on running about the place like some sort of wild animal!" He laughed.

Lynwen laughed too, remembering how she had always been unable to keep still, and getting overly excited whenever she got to see her big brother. Well, not much has changed there, she thought to herself, silently chuckling at the comparison.

"You were always such a handful as a child, with most being unable to control you!" He said, while still smiling broadly at the memory. "But I always knew that it was due to the fact that you always had so much energy bubbling inside you, and that sitting still for hours on end only forced you to react in frustration at being so bored. I knew, because I was exactly the same when I was an elfling... well I suppose I still am like it." He said, as they both started laughing at his words before he continued speaking. "All you needed was a little entertaining, which I achieved by taking you out horse riding, and exploring, etc. And you actually ended up being the perfect excuse that I needed to escape the incessant nagging from ada!"

Lynwen brought her hand up and playfully smacked him across his upper arm, behind her, while smiling at his admission.

"What?" Elrohir asked, pretending to be shocked by Lynwen's smack.

"You used me! I was a poor, defenceless little girl, who thought the world of you!" She said, acting as if she was hurt at Elrohir's admission.

Elrohir brought his head back from her shoulder, and turned Lynwen around to face him by placing his hands upon her upper arms. He then moved his hands up to the side of her head, bringing his face down so it was only inches from hers before he spoke, his playful voice, now gone, and instead, replaced with a hint of seriousness. "I always thought the world of you. And I still do." He looked into her eyes affectionately, every time forgetting just how beautifully big and blue they were, before he softly spoke again. "I love you, Lynwen."

Lynwen couldn't contain her huge smile at hearing his declaration, never getting tired of hearing him say it to her. "I love you too, Ro." She replied.

Elrohir couldn't contain his smile, either, and slowly closed the gap between them by softly placing his lips upon hers, instantly feeling his insides ignite at their contact. They kissed very slowly for, what seemed like, an eternity, both of them wanting this moment to last for as long as possible, their tongues sensually caressing each other's at a snails pace.

Elrohir then, gently, broke the kiss and brought his head back slightly so he could look upon her face. "It's very hot tonight, little one. Would you like to join me for a swim?" He seductively asked her, his eyes shining with their usual mischief.

"Of course!" Lynwen happily obliged, and began unbuttoning her breeches straight away, swiftly followed by the removal of her shirt.

Elrohir didn't waste any time, either, and promptly removed his clothes, messily dropping them on the bank of the river. He turned around to face Lynwen standing next to him, admiring her body. He smiled as he noticed she was wearing a very large, and very unattractive, pair of knickers, again, and he wondered if she actually owned _anything_ that was remotely sexy. His eyes then went to her bare chest, loving how her breasts were perfectly rounded and large, and he just couldn't wait to devour them again.

He turned back towards the calm flow of the river, and effortlessly leapt off the edge into the cool, clear, water, hardly making a splash as he did so. He turned to face Lynwen and held out his arms. "Come on in. The water's wonderful." He encouraged her.

Lynwen sat herself down on the river bank, and dangled her legs into the water, instantly feeling the cooling effect against her warm skin. Elrohir waded his way towards her, and stopped once he was directly in front of her, before placing his hands on her knees, and gently pushed them apart. He then moved to stand between her spread legs, his hands now coming to rest on her hips, as he bent his head down and began placing soft kisses on her stomach, slowly bringing his mouth upwards until his lips met with her breasts. He, ever so slowly, caressed them with his mouth, while Lynwen gently ran her hands through his unbound hair as she looked down at him. She crossed her ankles behind his back as Elrohir brought his head up to look at her, their intense gazes into each other's eyes, revealing they're strong love for each other. Lynwen then bent down from her sitting position on the river bank, and captured his lips with hers, kissing him tenderly.

After a few minutes of kissing, Elrohir took a hold of her upper thighs, and lifted her down into the water to join him, both of them now standing on the river bed, the cool, crystal-clear water, coming up to their midriffs. Elrohir ran his fingers into Lynwen's hair, his palms coming to rest on either side of her head, as he continued their slow, sensual kissing, etching every taste and feel of her deep into his memory.

The cool water was a welcome relief from the extremely warm heat that was hanging heavily on the night air. As they were running their hands up and down each other's bodies, their touches were leaving droplets of water behind, the cold beads contrasting wonderfully against their warm, bare skin.

Elrohir broke their kissing, again, bringing his head back slightly so he could look at her. He didn't know how long he would be gone up north and so, he was trying to savour every image of her, inscribing as much into his mind as possible. They continued staring at each other for a few moments, the glint in their eyes, displaying their love and devotion to each other, before Lynwen broke the silence.

"This is the very spot where you taught me to swim." She said, as her face broke out into a smile at the memory.

Elrohir also smiled now, as he remembered back to that summer again. "Aye, it is, you're right." He said, as he looked around at their surroundings. He then suddenly broke out into laughter, as he obviously remembered something from that time. "And you were kicking your legs about, like the mad woman that you are, where you were desperately trying to stay afloat..." He trailed off now, as he continued laughing. "... I think you managed to empty half of the river with the amount of water you kicked everywhere!" He said in-between breaths.

Lynwen started laughing too, but more so at hearing Elrohir laugh now rather than of the memory. She watched how his eyes were watering slightly from where he was laughing so much, and how his perfect, white teeth, were displayed due to his radiant smile, and how his faint laughter lines next to his mouth, were now on show. She was utterly transfixed by the sight of him, and her stomach did somersaults by the sudden realisation as to how much she actually, truly, loved him.

After his laughter had died down, he started to shake his head slightly as he was still reliving the memory, his smile still just as wide. Lynwen brought up her hand and started stroking the side of his face, which caused Elrohir to look up to meet her gaze. His wide smile faded to one of something more subtle, as he too, brought up his hand, before placing it at the back of her head, gently guiding her lips to his where they resumed their slow, sensual kiss.

After a few minutes of kissing, Elrohir brought down his hands to below the water-line and took a hold of the hem of Lynwen's knickers, where he then proceeded to lower them down over her behind. He then pulled himself away from their kissing, before lowering himself down and ducking under the water. Lynwen could feel his hands as they were completely removing her knickers from her body, gliding them down the entire length of her legs, before she then stepped out of them. She could then feel Elrohir kissing his way up her bare legs, slowly reaching the tops of her thighs with his lips, before his head surfaced from the water, his kisses now continuing on her stomach and up to her breasts. His mouth then reached hers again, and they began passionately kissing one another, their eager tongues showing their sudden desperate longing for one another.

Lynwen then felt Elrohir's hardness pushed up against her inner thigh, and let out a soft sigh of contentment into his mouth, knowing that soon enough, they'd be joined in body, once again.

Elrohir slowly glided one of his hands down the side of her naked body before it went below the water-line, and coming to rest between her legs. Lynwen gasped into his mouth as he seductively began to stroke her, ensuring that she was fully ready to receive him.

And after feeling satisfied that she was now completely ready, he took a hold of her thighs, and lifted her up out of the water slightly, so that she was now straddling his hips and her legs were wrapped around his waist. He leant his forehead against hers, closing his eyes as he inhaled every essence of her before he softly breathed against her lips, "I love you", as he then lowered her down on to his fully erect shaft, fully sheathing himself deep inside of her.

They remained like this for a number of minutes, neither one of them moving, or attempting to thrust. Instead, they just took comfort at being, as one, again, while they sensually, and slowly, devoured each other's lips, softly caressing each other's tongues. And when, after a few minutes, that they eventually began to move against each other, it was incredibly slow. Their arms were tightly embracing one another, their kissing never breaking, while their hips, ever so slowly, were grinding against one another's. It was an overwhelmingly romantic and emotional moment that they were both sharing in, and neither one of them were in any rush to end it.

The full moon was now high in the cloudless, star-filled sky, causing the water surrounding them to shimmer and sparkle in white and silver shades. Their skin was glowing from the moon beam that was illuminating them, their bodies appearing as silver silhouettes against the dark backdrop of the high valley towering over them. It was as if they were completely alone in the world at that moment, their minds focused, only, on each other.

And after quite a while of their slow, amorous love making, their bodies eventually dictated to them that it was time for it to finally come to an end. They both climaxed at the same time, as Lynwen threw her head back and arched backwards, both of them intensely convulsing as the extreme pleasure of the moment, completely engulfed their naked bodies.

After her orgasm had subsided, Lynwen still kept herself arched backwards, and her eyes closed, as Elrohir, still holding her with one of his arms, softly ran his fingers over her skin from her throat, down over her breasts, and then over her flat stomach, mixing her beads of sweat with the cool droplets of the river's water, savouring in her natural flawed beauty. He then leant forward, resting his head against her chest, using it as a temporary pillow, as he tried to regain his strength, his breathing deep and ragged. One of his hands was now placed on her behind as he continued to hold her up slightly, her legs still wrapped around his waist, while his other hand had come to rest at her mid-back, supporting her in her current position.

Lynwen brought her head back up and looked down at him, his head resting against her bosom. She smiled as she looked upon his face. He looked completely exhausted, and his eyes were closed as he was clearly trying to regain some energy. And she knew why. Although it had probably been one of the most slowest, and sensual, love making sessions they'd ever had, the end result had been one of the most intensifying! And she knew it was because they weren't going to see each other again for a while, possibly even months, and so it was their uncontrollable need and want to truly feel, and experience, each other one last time, that made this evening one of the most loving, passionate, and tender moments, that they had ever shared together.

And it was an evening that neither one of them, would ever forget.

xxx

The following morning, Lynwen was stood at the gates of Rivendell along with her father and Arwen, so that they could farewell the three brothers before their departure to the north.

Lynwen and Elrohir had chosen to say their heart felt goodbyes to each other in privacy earlier that morning, during which, Elrohir reassured her once again about the growing darkness and evil that he had spoken of previously, saying that it was nothing for her to worry about, and that he would ensure that she would always be safe. He then promised her that he would come back for her soon, after which, they would then set up a new life together, elsewhere.

Lynwen said goodbye to Elladan and Estel as she hugged them both, followed by an affectionate kiss on their cheek, knowing that Elladan would come back with Elrohir in a matter of months, but that this could very well be the last time that she would see Estel for a number of years, as he would be reuniting with his fellow Dúnedain rangers of the north.

Lynwen noticed how Estel subtly took a hold of Arwen's fingers as he kissed her on the cheek, before whispering something in her ear. Lynwen then looked to her father, seeing that he was glancing sideways towards Arwen and Estel, in-between speaking with Elladan and Elrohir, and a look of pure pain was unmistakably etched into his expression. Pain, that Arwen and Estel's love was going to be the cause of the loss of his daughter in the future. And it made Lynwen feel a little guilty that she was probably going to be the cause of her father's loss of Elrohir, too.

After saying their goodbyes, the three brothers started to climb atop their horses when Elrohir stopped his attempt to mount, and suddenly turned around to face Lynwen. He looked at her for a few seconds, as if debating his next action, before he then strode over to her and stopped directly in front of her, bringing his right hand up and placing it at the back of her head, before leaning his mouth directly next to her right ear. He spoke to her in a whisper, keeping their exchange a completely private moment.

"Know that I love you, little one, and that I always will." He said to her, before bringing his head back so that he was now looking into her eyes, his left hand now placed at the other side of her head. "I'll come back for you, Lynwen, I promise." He whispered, as he placed a feather light kiss upon her mouth, their lips barely brushing against one another's, before he pulled away and quickly turned from her, walking back to his brothers and leaping effortlessly upon his horse.

Lynwen caught her father staring at their exchange before he quickly looked away again, his face seeming to show resentment, and some sort of determination.

But she quickly looked back to Elrohir, as he took a hold of the reigns of his horse and stole one more glance at Lynwen, his face clearly showing his regret at having to leave her, before he directed his horse to turn around and out through the gates, and out of Rivendell, and out of sight.

Lynwen felt as if she'd been thrown back twelve years, remembering that dreadful day she'd had to watch her best friend leave through these very same gates all those years ago. And now she felt like she was losing him all over again. She tried telling herself that it would only be for a few months, but she wasn't sure she would be able to cope very well without him. Not with the way she had been alienated by all the other elves, and that the very few people she could talk to, seemed to be refusing to acknowledge her relationship with Elrohir. So she wouldn't have anyone that she would be able to confide in, in his absence. She had no one now. She was completely alone without Elrohir, her best friend, her lover, her rock.

xxx

A number of, painfully, lonely weeks had passed by for Lynwen. She'd spent most of them with Anira, studying, or cooped up in her father's study, assisting him with the running of things, desperate to keep herself busy, and hoping it would help take her mind off the whispers and the sniggering she was still having to endure every time she passed by some elves. But it wasn't working. She'd never felt so isolated and unhappy as she did right now, and it was only Elrohir's promise that he'd come back for her, that was keeping her strong.

Then, one morning, as she was sat with her father and Lindir in the study, helping to sort through some paperwork, her father offered her a very exciting chance to travel with him outside of Rivendell, to attend to some business.

"Where to?!" Lynwen asked her father excitedly.

Elrond smiled at his daughter's enthusiasm, before revealing the plan. "I need to travel to Mirkwood to discuss some urgent matters with the king, Thranduil, and I'd very much like to have you accompany me on the journey. For too long I have kept you cooped up in Imladris, and I feel it's time that you got to see a bit of the world outside. So, what do you say?" He asked her, his smile still wide at the enlightened expression on his daughter's face.

"Yes, of course! I'd love to go with you, ada! When?!" Lynwen said, her slightly raised voice unable to hide the eagerness at her father's very tempting offer.

Elrond chuckled slightly, before he answered her. "I plan to leave on the morrow, iell nin, so you had better go and get your things ready. Go and find Arwen, she will help you to pack lightly." He said as he gestured to the door behind her with his hand.

Then, a sudden thought came to Lynwen. "Ada, how long will we be gone? I don't want to miss Elrohir arriving back home, from the north."

Elrond noticeably cringed at Lynwen's words, still not being able to bring himself to acknowledge hers and Elrohir's relationship. He took a couple of deep, calming breaths, before he, honestly, answered her question. "I plan on being back in Imladris in just a few weeks time, and I am sure, that that will be before your brothers arrive here."

Lynwen contemplated her father's words for a moment, before she agreed. "Ok, ada, I'll come with you. And I'll go to pack right away!" She said, as she stood up, and ran out of the door of the study.

"Make sure you pack lightly, Lynwen!" Elrond called after her, hoping that she had heard him in her haste.

Lindir moved to sit in the chair that Lynwen had been sitting in, directly opposite to Elrond. He glanced towards the door that Lynwen had just exited from, before he turned back to face Elrond, who was now looking down at some papers on the desk in front of him. "My lord, do you think this is a wise decision?" Lindir asked.

Elrond looked up from the papers in front of him, and stared at his assistant sat in front of him. He sighed deeply before leaning back in his chair, and dropping the papers on to the desk. "I have no other choice, Lindir. I have to separate them, somehow."

"But, Mirkwood, my lord? There's no way that Thranduil would allow this. It is known that he has his gates firmly closed to outsiders, especially humans. Surely Lothlórien would be better?" Lindir said.

But Elrond shook his head. "No, Lindir. Lynwen would escape Lothlórien, easily, and I know that she would not hesitate in doing so. No, Mirkwood is the best option, for not only is it difficult to enter, but it is also difficult to leave. The darkness that has descended upon that forest, will make sure that Lynwen will be unable to escape."

"So, you mean to imprison her, my lord?" Lindir's question was hindered with the slight disapproval in his voice.

Elrond sighed again, knowing that what he was planning, was extremely harsh. But he also saw it as absolutely necessary. He could not allow Elrohir and Lynwen to continue on with this relationship. He refused to allow it to continue on! And if this was the only way that he could finally put an end to their, unbearable, romance, then so be it!

"Yes, Lindir, I do." Elrond, regretfully, replied.

_**A/N: If anyone is interested in reading some 'sideline' love scenes between Lynwen and Elrohir, then details of which, can be found in my profile.**_


	15. Encounters with the Mirkwood Elves

_**Hi guys! Sincerest apologies for taking so long to update. And I got so carried away with writing this chapter, that it ended up reaching around eighteen thousand words! And so I made the decision to split it in two, which means that the next chapter should be published over the next few days! I just need to proof read it first.**_

_**To 'Expectance', thank you so much for your review. It wouldn't let me PM you, so I'm replying to you here. I know what you mean about Elrohir! Since I've been writing this story, I've also found myself really falling for his character! I think Legolas has a lot to live up to! :) I hope you continue enjoying the story, and thanks for reading so far. :)**_

_**To 'genesis', It also wouldn't let me PM you, but it seems that I never replied to you on my previous chapters, which I apologise for. If you're still out there, thank you so much for your review! And you were my first reviewer! :)**_

_**I also just want to say a huge thanks to all the people who have chosen to follow and favourite this story, and to all who are reading it. And I would really, really love to hear what everyone thinks of Elrohir, so far. What do you think of his character? Have I managed to successfully portray him as unruly and unpredictable? And what's your opinion of his and Lynwen's relationship? And more importantly, is he a believable love rival against the popular, and much loved, Legolas? I would really appreciate any feed back about this, and of what you make of the story in general, so far! :)**_

_**Ok, so it's on to Mirkwood, and it's finally time for Lynwen to meet Legolas! But I ask you to please give Legolas a chance. He's grown up in a realm that is constantly under threat from evil, so it's only natural he'd be like this. But he'll be coming out of his shell very soon, I promise! ;)**_

Chapter 15 - Encounters with the Mirkwood Elves

It took a week to reach the Forest Gate on the north western borders of Mirkwood. And at Glorfindel's recommendation, Elrond had brought along ten of Rivendell's guards to take the journey with himself and Lynwen, unsure of what potential foes they would meet along the way. But as luck would have it, they hadn't run in to any orcs while crossing the high pass over the Misty Mountains, and had had an uneventful journey while travelling northwards up the eastern edge of the River Anduin, towards the north west of Mirkwood. Elrond suspected that this last, peaceful, leg up the river, was probably due to the Beornings, a race of skin-changers patrolling the area, and keeping all foul creatures at bay.

The party had made haste ever since leaving Rivendell a week before, only stopping for occasional half hour rest periods to allow their horses to regain some strength, and setting up camp for approximately five to six hours at night to allow Lynwen to get some sleep.

But Lynwen hadn't slept much at all during these five to six hour rest periods, what with her being far too excited to be able to properly switch herself off. With this being the first time she had ever been allowed outside of Rivendell, and along with the fact that she wasn't sure if this was also going to be the last, she decided that she wasn't going to waste a single moment of this journey. From dawn, until well into the night, she was always ensuring that she was visually taking in every mountain and open plain, every blade of grass and rocky terrain, every tree and flower, and every single cloud in the alien patch of sky above her. She was loving to be finally on an adventure outside of her home, something that she had always dreamed about for most of her life.

As a child, Lynwen would sometimes go into her father's study and look at various maps, wondering what some of the places must have looked like, and if the people who lived there were human, like her. And if they were human, would Lynwen be just like them in her ways, or had being raised by elves tarnished her human traits? These were things that she spent most of her life wondering about. And these thoughts about the human race still didn't get answered when Éomer and his companions came to stay in Rivendell, for she knew that Éomer would have been on his best behaviour the whole time he had been in her homeland, which made her wonder if there was more to the human race than what he and his party had portrayed.

And now, she was finally being given the opportunity to experience some of her dreams of exploring. She had been told that Mirkwood didn't harbour any humans, and that they wouldn't be passing by any human settlements on the way there, so she knew that she would have to continue wondering about her own race for a little longer, still.

Now stood in front of the Forest Gate to Mirkwood, with the entrance consisting of an archway formed by overgrown weaving branches from trees on either side of the path that lead inside, tightly woven with wild untamed ivy, Elrond knew that the dangers that they had anticipated to meet on their travels, were still very much waiting for them.

"Well, we're finally here, ada!" Lynwen said enthusiastically in the direction of her father, who was sat atop his horse beside hers.

Elrond turned to face his daughter, and shook his head slightly. "I'm afraid we still have another long journey in front of us Lynwen, before we arrive at Thranduil's Halls. I'd say another two hundred miles, or so..." He said, tilting his head as he tried to calculate the distance.

Lynwen's head spun around to look at her father, her eyes wide with shock. "What?! So we're only around half way?!"

Elrond chuckled a little at Lynwen's disbelief of their current location. "Yes, iell nin (my daughter), I'm afraid that is correct. Although this is the entrance gate to the forest of Mirkwood, we are still only on the western border. And the Halls of Thranduil lie to eastern side of the forest." He said, as he turned his head away from Lynwen to look at the deep dark woods before him, his expression now changed and becoming more serious before he spoke again. "And a great darkness has been descending upon this woodland for a very long time." He said in a quieter, almost distant voice, not really addressing his words to anyone in particular, as his eyes bored into the thick overgrowth of trees before them. "The darkness has created foul, and highly dangerous creatures to populate and live amongst these trees, making this quite a dangerous place to be..."

"So why are we coming here?!" Lynwen interrupted her father, the tone of her voice and the horrified expression upon her face, clearly showing her wonder as to whether her father must have gone mad!

Elrond couldn't help but chuckle again at Lynwen as he turned back to look at her, noticing how her eyes were wide and staring straight at him. "It's ok Lynwen, I hear that the northern part of the forest is not as riddled with evil as it once was, what with the wood-elves constantly fighting it away. Plus I have brought along some of Rivendell's finest warriors." He said as he gestured to the other elves positioned around them, with his arm. "And so, I anticipate to have an uneventful, and safe trek to Thranduil's Halls." He reassured her, wishing that his positive words would also reassure him. But Elrond knew what resided in this forest, and he just hoped that his reassurances to Lynwen would hold true on their trek through the dark woodland.

He then turned his head to face the Rivendell warriors he had brought with him. "Be on your guard. Although many have been killed, there are still some creatures that remain, lurking amongst the trees and ready to attack from above." He said to his travelling companions, as they all nodded at him in understanding.

Lynwen was now feeling really anxious at hearing her father's warning to the Rivendell guards, and wondered what creatures he was referring to that would attack them from above? But she seemed to forget her concerns for a moment as she found herself staring through the elven gate, and down the length of the narrow path inside, watching it disappear into darkness up ahead. It looked so shadowy and murky in there, the trees so dense, that it was difficult to differentiate between them as their thick trunks and branches intertwined amongst each other, forming a seemingly never-ending archway down the entire length of the path. She felt transfixed as she continued to gaze through the Forest Gate, everything seeming unmoving, and eerily silent, as if the forest itself, were dead.

The heat wave that had been suffocating Rivendell for the past few weeks, had obviously been inflicting it's overpowering warmth all over the central and upper regions of Middle Earth, as it was still hanging heavily all around them, and had been during their journey over the past week. But looking through the archway of the Forest Gate and into the forest of Mirkwood, it appeared as if these woods were somehow escaping the intense rays of the sun above, seeming somehow devoid of all weather and temperatures. Instead, the forest just seemed to be enveloped in a thick, heavy blanket of darkness, as if the woodland was heavily cursed by pure evil. She suddenly felt a cold shudder down her spine, not liking the impact this dark woodland was having on her.

But she was abruptly brought back to attention by her father calling her name. She turned her head to look at him to the side of her, but her expression still remained a little terrified.

"Lynwen, are you alright?" Elrond asked her again. "You seemed miles away."

Lynwen quickly nodded, as she didn't want him to think she was unable to travel any further, hoping that he wouldn't regret bringing her along with him. The thought that he may even send her back to Rivendell, cutting short her first ever journey outside of Imladris, filled her with dread. "Yes ada, I'm fine." She said quickly, with a forced smile upon her face. "Shall we enter?" She gestured her hand towards the gateway, hoping she was fooling him into thinking she was still up for this trek.

Elrond slowly nodded in agreement, before he turned to face the guards surrounding himself and Lynwen. "The path is very narrow, so we will have to travel in single file. I'll need to split you into two groups, with one half of you travelling up front, while the other half travels behind. I will travel in the middle of the line with Lynwen."

The guards nodded their understanding again, and began to divide themselves up into two groups, while Elrond turned back to face Lynwen with a reassuring smile upon his face. "It'll be alright, iell nin." He reassured her once again.

xxx

The group had been travelling along the elven path through the forest of Mirkwood, for five days now. So far, they hadn't come across any dangers, and their trek had been fairly quiet. A little unnervingly quiet, Elrond thought to himself. He had been prepared for possible attacks from the evil creatures that resided within the woodland, but he had also expected to have been halted by the guards of the Woodland Realm by now, knowing that he and his party weren't so far away from the Halls.

Lynwen had felt completely uneasy for the last five days, as they had trudged along the narrow, somewhat damaged, elven path, obviously not used as frequently as it once was. She felt so suffocated within this forest, what with the trees being so dense, and extremely tall, blocking out nearly all of the sunlight from above, making their trek an incredibly dark and eerie experience. There also seemed to be very little air to breath, which confused Lynwen greatly as scientifically, there should be plentiful supplies of oxygen from the thick overgrowth of trees that they were amongst. It just confirmed to Lynwen that this forest was indeed, cursed, or extremely ill, or both!

The elven path that they were travelling along, was covered by an arch of branches from the trees standing on either side, reaching across the stone trail to each other, before tightly weaving their dark branches together overhead. This hadn't proven so much as a problem for Lynwen due to her average height, but the elves travelling with her, had had to spend most of the trek ducking under these branches that were arching above their heads, the fact that they were all travelling on horseback was making the elves even taller than they already were.

As they quietly trotted along the elven path, Lynwen found her thoughts drifting back to three days previous, when they had crossed, what ada had referred to it as, The Enchanted River. Her father had told her that its waters, if touched, will inflict upon you a deep slumber that will last for many days, causing amnesia when you eventually awaken.

But thinking back to that particular day now, she relived how it had actually been a very comical experience. A comical experience that she had been extremely grateful for, as it had momentarily dispelled her unease at being within this, seemingly, dying forest.

She now started laughing to herself again, as she remembered back to how there had only been one small boat to cross the Enchanted River, being just big enough to carry one horse and it's rider at a time. And how her father had been stood on the river bank, firmly, and even quite rudely, dishing out his orders to everyone on how they should handle and calm their horses when entering the boat, only to then fail miserably when it came to transporting his own steed across the enchanted waters.

His horse had decided that it did not want to be in the boat, and was stomping its hooves in the small wooden vessel, causing it to sway violently back and forth, almost throwing itself and Elrond, into the waters. She'll never forget her father's face during this moment, as he had gone from the, almost, pompous Lord, scolding everyone, including herself, when they were, apparently, transporting their own horses incorrectly across the river, to a petrified and panicked ellon desperately trying to calm his own horse with his frantic words. Lynwen, who was already safely on the other side of the river at this point, along with most of the guards, had broken down laughing hysterically at the sight of her father in that boat, and had thought how it had served him right for the harsh way he had been brandishing his instructions to everyone else, beforehand.

And now, finding herself getting lost in that wonderfully funny memory from three days ago, she couldn't contain the laughter that emanated from her.

"Lynwen! It wasn't funny at the time, and still isn't funny, three days later!" Elrond said as he angrily turned his head to look at his daughter behind him, who was laughing uncontrollably to herself, atop her horse.

And Lynwen couldn't help but laugh even more at hearing her father's scolding! The image of his panic-stricken face when he had been crossing the Enchanted River, was still very fresh in her mind. "Ada, it was funny! If only you could have seen your face!" She said as she bent forwards slightly due to her laughter taking to a whole new, hysterical, level.

"Lynwen! Stop that at once!" Elrond scolded from in front of her, as he turned his head to look at her again. "And hold onto the reigns! You'll fall off that horse if you're not careful!"

And at that precise moment, Lynwen did stop laughing immediately. But not because her father had ordered her to, but because she had suddenly found the tip of an arrow pointed at very close proximity to her face. She gasped in shock at the threat that had taken her by surprise, and had seemingly come from nowhere. She looked down to her side to see a male elf standing next to her horse, with long straight brown hair, which was braided at the sides of his head just above his ears. And he was looking at her with a malicious expression upon his face. The arrow, still pointed at her face, was being held firmly within his bow, clearly ready to fire at her if given the order to. She froze in sheer terror, wondering if this was to be her end.

"I am the Lord Elrond of Imladris." She heard her father announce loudly from his position in front of her. She looked out of the corner of her eye, to see that all the Rivendell elves in front of her, including her father, each had an arrow pointed at them from the wood elves that had formed a line along side their single file of horses. She could only assume the same thing was happening to the remainder of the Rivendell guards, behind her.

"And these are elves of Imladris." Elrond continued to announce, as he gestured his hands to the single file in front, and behind him.

Lynwen had turned her attention back to look at the brown-haired wood-elf standing beside her, and noticed how is brow had furrowed in confusion at hearing Elrond's last statement, for it was very obvious to everyone that Lynwen was not an elf. As she continued to make eye contact with this elf, she noticed out of the corner of her eye, that all the other wood elves had lowered their weapons, but that this particular one, still kept his arrow firmly pointed at her face.

"Please..." She heard her father say in her direction. "...lower you weapon. The lady is of no threat, I assure you." Elrond said, almost begging the brown-haired elf who was still positioned, and ready to shoot Lynwen, at a moment's notice.

Although it was probably only seconds, it felt like a life time for Lynwen. Looking down the shaft of that arrow, seemed like an age to her, as she wondered whether this elf was going to listen to her father, or decide to just shoot her anyway, obviously thinking that she was some kind of a danger. And out of the corner of her eye, she then saw her father open his mouth to reason with this wood-elf again. But before Elrond could speak, he was suddenly cut off by a stranger's demanding voice.

"Do as he says! Lower your weapon!" The stranger's smooth, but cold voice, ordered the brown-haired elf standing beside Lynwen, causing the arrow to be lowered from her face immediately.

Her heart was beating erratically in her chest, and she heard her father sigh deeply from his relief at her life being spared. She then looked frantically to see who it was who had given the order to spare her life, and saw a tall, slender, male elf, with almost white-blond hair, that was straight and reached down to his chest. She noticed it was braided at the sides of his head just above his ears, in the same fashion of the elf who had held her life in his hands, just moments before.

She watched as this blond elf then placed his hand upon his chest and bowed his head at her father, with Elrond returning the exact same gesture before her father, enthusiastically, addressed this blond elf before him.

"Legolas Thranduilion!" Elrond greeted him with a relieved smile upon his face. "How good it is to see you again!"

"Welcome, my Lord Elrond." Legolas replied with his deep smooth, but authoritative, voice. "What brings you to Mirkwood so soon after Elladan and Elrohir?" He asked, as his head slowly turned to look at Lynwen.

Lynwen's heart skipped a beat at the mention of her twin brothers. What did, this, Legolas mean? Was Elrohir here?! She couldn't contain the excitement that was souring through her body at the possibility that the ellon whom she loved more than life itself, could also be here too!

But her optimistic thoughts soon left her body as she suddenly realised she was under Legolas' stare, and felt herself feeling very unnerved by it. She noticed how his eyes were a startling and piercing light blue, boring right into her with an icy coldness. His face was serious, and showing an expression that was deadly and unsettlingly threatening, which sent a terrifying cold shiver down her spine.

"I have some business that I need to discuss with your father. Is he in the realm at present?" Elrond asked Legolas.

Legolas reluctantly dragged his harsh stare away from Lynwen to look back at the Lord of Rivendell, before he answered his question. "My Lord Elrond, my father is always in the realm. I know not of a time when he has ever left!" Legolas said, as his stern features broke out into a slight smile at his own comment.

Lynwen saw how Legolas' face softened slightly with this smile, noticing how he didn't seem quite so menacing with this slightly warmer expression he was now donning. She studied him for a moment, seeing how he had softly chiselled facial features and smooth creamy skin in the same way that Elrohir had. There was also evidence of ever so slight dimples, which were only evident now due to his small smile he was displaying. She noticed how his eyes had softened also, and were shining slightly with his enlightened expression, forcing her to get completely lost in their ice-blue depths.

But she was brought back from her thoughts rather quickly, when he turned his head slightly to look at her again, causing Lynwen to instantly look away from his uncomfortable stare.

Elrond laughed at Legolas' comment, knowing how true his words were, for he also hadn't known of many occasions in recent years when Thranduil had left Mirkwood. It was as if he had barricaded himself within his realm, hiding away from the evil amongst the woodland that surrounded him. But in doing this, he had also cut himself off from the rest of civilisation throughout Middle Earth.

But after his laughter had died down, he then noticed that Legolas was staring at Lynwen, and remembered that he hadn't explained who she was.

"Ah, Legolas, this is my foster daughter, Lynwen." Elrond said, as he gestured his hand behind him. "She was found, orphaned, by Elladan and Elrohir eighteen years ago, and was then raised amongst our family." He said with an affectionate smile upon his face. "Lynwen, this is Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood, and son of the King Thranduil." He said as he then gestured his hand towards Legolas.

This caused Lynwen to make eye contact with Legolas again, finding that he was still looking at her, but that his momentary warm expression was now gone, and replaced, once again, with his chilling stare. He then bowed his head slightly in greeting to Lynwen, but still didn't say anything to her. And after lifting his head back up, he looked at her for another moment with his eyes revealing some sort of confusion, and even caution, before he slowly turned his head away from her to look at Elrond again.

"I will escort you the rest of the way, my lord. It's only about another two day trek to my father's residences." Legolas said to Elrond, before he turned to speak to one of his fellow Mirkwood elves standing beside him, whom he was obviously arranging to leave in charge of the Woodland Guard on patrol out here. And after he had instructed his fellow guards on what needed to be done in his absence, he then led the way, escorting the Rivendell party to what little remained of, Greenwood the Great.

xxx

Later on that night, the group had set up camp just to the side of the elven path, still not wanting to venture too far into the dense forest. One large campfire had been lit, to which the party from Rivendell, along with Legolas and three wood-elves that he'd brought with him, sat around to eat and rest up for the night.

Lynwen found herself sat next to Beriadan, one of the Rivendell guards whom she knew fairly well due to his close friendship with her brothers. He was one of the very few elves from her homeland who didn't look at her in disgust, or just ignore her completely. And she had spent a lot of her time on this journey to Mirkwood in his company, as they had spent many an evening talking about various topics.

They had been sat chatting for around half an hour, while slowly eating their rations, with Beriadan telling her about his travels during the expedition. Lynwen had completely forgotten that he had been one of the guards assigned to that twelve year journey, and found herself hanging on his every word as he regaled his experiences during that time. He was telling her in detail the things that they all got up to on that journey, and the sometimes awkward situations some of them had found themselves in, which had usually been due to a high consumption of the local ales and wines of the region they'd been in at the time.

Lynwen was really enjoying listening to Beriadan's tales from the expedition, especially when the funny and awkward stories he was telling, involved Elrohir. And she suddenly burst out laughing as Beriadan told her about when the expedition had stopped in Gondor, and Elrohir had gotten so completely and utterly drunk one night, that a couple of the guards of Minas Tirith had found him aimlessly wandering some of the lower level streets, completely stark naked! And after a lot of questioning, Elrohir had finally managed to string together a mumbled sentence that gave the Gondor guards an idea as to where he was staying within the city. Then, to add to his humiliation, he was escorted through the various levels of streets, still completely naked, until they had personally delivered him to the rest of the Rivendell party in the inn that they had all been staying in. And according to Beriadan, it was something that Elrohir still hadn't been allowed to live down.

They were both so lost in their conversation, that Lynwen hadn't realised that her boisterous laughter had attracted the attention of someone sat on the opposite side of the camp fire. And it was only when Lynwen momentarily leant to the side to catch her breath, that she caught sight of the person in question, and instantly felt her unease engulf her body again, as Legolas' cold stare bored right into her.

Beriadan noticed Lynwen's sudden change in mood, and looked to where she was staring, seeing instantly the reason for her visible unease. Beriadan made a point of overtly nodding his head in acknowledgement at The Prince of Mirkwood, to which Legolas, sheepishly, nodded his greeting back at the Rivendell guard before quickly looking down at the ground, obviously feeling a little embarrassed that he'd been caught staring at Lynwen.

"He's just curious, Lynwen." Beriadan spoke quietly, as he turned his head again to look at her.

"Curious about what?" Lynwen asked him quietly, as she continued to cautiously observe the Mirkwood prince out of the corner of her eye.

"About you." Beriadan stated plainly, as if it was obvious.

Lynwen turned her head to look at Beriadan sat beside her, his words confusing her greatly. "Why would he be curious about me?" She asked him in hushed tones, her brow deeply furrowed in bewilderment.

Beriadan leant even closer to her now, not wanting to risk their conversation being overheard, before he quietly spoke. "Legolas is still very young, and has only ever travelled outside of Mirkwood a handful of times to which, I believe, it has only ever been Imladris that he journeyed to on those occasions. He seems to have been assigned the task of being his father's messenger, for his travels to our homeland seem to have only ever been for the sole purpose of delivering Thranduil's parchments." Beriadan secretly eyed the Mirkwood prince out of the corner of his eye now, still keeping his head in close proximity to Lynwen's, before he continued. "And I doubt very much on his rare journeys outside of Mirkwood, that he's ever seen a human before. So I suppose it's only natural that he'd be a little curious about you."

"I don't remember him ever coming to Imladris?" Lynwen whispered as she looked up at Beriadan.

"Well you wouldn't, because the last time he came was around a hundred years ago." Beriadan answered.

Lynwen sneaked another look at Legolas now, seeing how he was being included in a conversation with his fellow Mirkwood elves sat beside him, but it was very clear that he wasn't listening to what they were saying. She looked at how he was sat upon a small rock, his forearms resting on his knees, as he looked down at the ground between his legs. He looked a little lost in thought, and possibly even a little sad. Or maybe he just looked angry. Lynwen couldn't decide which, as she secretly continued to look upon him.

"A hundred years ago? I thought you said he was young?" Lynwen quietly asked the Rivendell guard beside her, while keeping her gaze fixated on Legolas.

Beriadan chuckled a little now, forgetting about Lynwen's perception of age. "Well, five hundred years old would be considered young amongst elves." He said to her, smiling a little at Lynwen's ignorance.

Legolas now lifted his head up, and fixed his gaze on the camp fire in the middle of the group, showing that placid, icy expression again, as he stared into nothingness. It was an expression that Lynwen had never witnessed before in her eighteen years of life. She'd suffered her father's and Anira's wrath more times than she cared to remember, but the way Legolas looked right now was more than just the angry expressions she'd dealt with from her elders in the past. No, his expression was deadly. Lethal! As if his piercing stare, alone, could freeze someone to the spot in sheer terror. And the look in those eyes of his was as if he wouldn't hesitate for a single moment in killing something... or someone!

"Five hundred, you say?" Lynwen whispered, her gaze still transfixed on Legolas.

"Give or take a few years." Beriadan answered, "But I know he's around the five hundred year mark." He said, as he looked at how Lynwen was staring at the blond wood elf through the flames of the camp fire, and he couldn't contain a small chuckle at her concentrated stare.

"What are you laughing at?" Lynwen turned her head to look at the Rivendell guard sat beside her now, her brow furrowed a little in confusion.

"Well, it's just that I see the Prince of Mirkwood is not the only person here who's trying to satisfy their curiosity." Beriadan said to her while grinning widely.

Lynwen couldn't help but smile at Beriadan's teasing, knowing that she'd been caught doing the exact same thing to Legolas, that he had been doing to her moments before. But she couldn't help being intrigued by him. He was unlike any other being she'd met before, what with his icy cold and threatening demeanour, and his murderous glare. He terrified, and fascinated Lynwen, at the same time.

"It's just that he's so... different to everyone from back home." She whispered, as she stole another glance at Legolas out of the corner of her eye. "He's just so... " Lynwen paused as she tried to think of the best word to use to describe Legolas, before she finished her sentence. "...intimidating. Yeah, that's it, intimidating." She finally said, as she continued to study him through the flames of the campfire.

But she was broken from her trance by Beriadan gently nudging her with his elbow, and when she turned her head to look at him, he subtly nodded his head towards the trees directly behind them. Lynwen understood, and stood up with Beriadan as they both started to walk away from the group, and away into the trees.

"Lynwen! Where are you going? You can't go wandering off around here on your own!" Elrond shouted out to her from his position on the opposite side of the campfire. Lynwen stopped in her tracks and turned around to face her father, seeing his worried expression as he looked at her.

"I'm accompanying her, my lord." Beriadan answered for her as he stepped out of the shadows of the trees, and back into the light of the campfire.

Elrond's expression instantly relaxed at the sight of the Rivendell guard. "Ah, Beriadan! Ok, very good, but don't stray too far from the camp, and please keep her safe!" Elrond said, which just incited a loud tut and a very obvious roll of the eyes from Lynwen, to which Elrond just smiled affectionately, at.

And just before Lynwen followed Beriadan into the darkness of the forest, she caught Legolas staring in her direction again, his forearms still resting on his knees, but his head was tilted upwards from his slouched position, studying her intently with his intense glare. Her father's call to her moments before, obviously alerting the Mirkwood prince to her exit from the camp. Lynwen quickly looked away from his unnerving gaze, and swiftly followed after Beriadan into the trees behind the camp.

Once Lynwen and Beriadan were away from the camp, and safely hidden amongst the dense trees of the woodland, Beriadan felt that they were far enough away for him to speak freely of the Mirkwood prince, without the risk of them being overheard. He turned to face Lynwen, his elven eyesight allowing him to still see her clearly, even in the bleak darkness of the wood, before he quietly spoke to her.

"I know how intimidating Legolas may seem to you, but you have to understand, he's grown up in a realm that is constantly under threat from attack, and with evil spreading throughout the forest that surrounds them. Every day is a frightful struggle for the Mirkwood elves, as they continue to fight the evil that threatens to engulf their home, and so, understandably, they've become a very wary and fearful race." He said, as he looked up towards the canopy of the tall trees above, as if he was trying to remember something. "What was it your father said once?" He said, but more to himself than to Lynwen. He then tilted his head back down to look at her again before he continued. "Ah yes, your father once referred to the Mirkwood elves as 'Less wise, but more dangerous.' Which I think describes them perfectly!" Beriadan said, as he looked upon Lynwen standing before him.

"That doesn't make me feel any less intimidated by them, Beriadan!" Lynwen scolded as she tried to look at the Rivendell guard. But she could only just make out the very vague outline of Beriadan standing in front of her, with not even the light of the moon helping to illuminate their current surroundings, as the tall dense trees blocked out everything from above.

Beriadan quietly laughed at her words, realising that she was right and that he probably hadn't done a very good job at making her feel more relaxed in the Mirkwood elves' presence. As his laugh died down, he looked at her a bit more seriously before he spoke again. "You don't need to fear him, Lynwen." He finally said, his voice sounding sure and confident. "Legolas knows you are not a threat, and wouldn't hurt you. Especially since he now knows you are a daughter of Elrond! Legolas thinks very highly of your father."

Beriadan's words still did little to comfort Lynwen, what with Legolas' frighteningly deadly, and cold stare, still very much engraved in her mind.

Beriadan could see that Lynwen still looked unsure, and wondered how he could better reassure her about Legolas, for the Mirkwood prince was the least of Beriadan's worries. It was his father, Thranduil, and Legolas' older brother, Daeron, that were the one's to be feared, he thought to himself. As Daeron was the eldest of the king's two children, he was the heir to the throne of Mirkwood, and thus, was just as arrogant and fearful as his father was.

Beriadan almost pitied Legolas in a way because, as he was not the heir to his father's kingdom, so therefore was seen as less important compared to his older brother, his father seemed to think nothing of sending Legolas out on patrol into the most darkest and dangerous parts of this forest, clearly not too worried about his son's constant brush with evil. And on top of that, he would even use Legolas as a mere messenger, sending him to Rivendell whenever he needed a parchment delivered to Elrond.

"Do you know him well?" Lynwen asked, interrupting Beriadan from his thoughts.

"I'm afraid I don't know him too well, as I've only met him on a handful of occasions in the past. But I do know that his mother was killed in an orc attack some four hundred and fifty years ago." Beriadan answered quietly, ensuring that their conversation couldn't be overheard. "And I know that this has caused him to detest those vile creatures, constantly hunting them out so that he can seek some sort of vengeance for his mother. And the only reason I know about that is because Elladan and Elrohir told me about it once, as they found that they could relate to Legolas in that respect, for they too, detest orcs with all of their being because of what happened to their mother, Celebrían."

Lynwen realised at that moment that she'd never fully understood what had happened to Celebrían, only that she departed Middle Earth for the Undying Lands, some five hundred years ago. She could see that her father was still deeply upset about his wife's departure, and whatever it was that happened to her beforehand. And he always seemed to change the subject whenever her name came up in conversation. And her brothers had never talked about it either, and she'd never wanted to press them or her sister for any more information about what had happened to their mother.

"What _did _happen to Celebrían?" Lynwen asked in a whisper.

Beriadan sighed heavily, remembering back to that time as if it was just yesterday. "She was captured by orcs while crossing the Misty Mountains... and she was..." Beriadan paused while taking another deep breath, trying to think of the right words, before he hesitantly continued. "... and she was... tormented, shall we say, and was also tortured by a poisonous wound that they inflicted on her."

Lynwen had understood what Beriadan had meant when he said she had been 'tormented', which made Lynwen sick to her stomach. "How did she escape?" She asked.

"She didn't. Elladan and Elrohir found her, and rescued her from her captures, taking her back to Imladris where your father healed her physically." Beriadan answered before he paused for a moment, thinking back to that dark time that Rivendell had suffered. "But..." He continued slowly. "...she could not be healed mentally, and so only a year later, she left Middle Earth hoping to find some solace across the sea."

Lynwen was shocked at hearing what had happened to Celebrían, and instantly felt sympathy for her father and her siblings. But hearing about Celebrían's, and Legolas' mother's, horrific encounters with orcs, instantly forced her to think about her own parents, and the fate that they had suffered from those vile creatures the day that she'd been found by Elladan and Elrohir. Were they tortured too? Was her mother tormented before she was killed? They were things that she never found herself thinking about too much, as it was just too painful. It was strange because, she had never even known them, but yet, she still felt an overwhelming sorrow whenever she thought about how their lives were so cruelly taken from them. She had never asked her brothers for the details of how her parents had met their end, not wanting to know the, possibly, horrific details of the state that their bodies had been found in. She doubted that her brothers would even tell her the details anyway, even if she asked them of it.

Now thinking back to Legolas, she found herself feeling a little bit of sympathy for him too. She knew what it was like to lose parents to orcs, but the difference was, was that he had probably known his mother before she was killed. And that must be a thousand times worse, she thought to herself.

"It explains why he looks a little distant... sad, even..." Lynwen whispered, as she stared in the direction of the camp.

Beriadan was a little confused when Lynwen spoke, as the last thing they had been talking about was what had happened to Celebrían. And it was only when he saw her looking in the direction of the camp, that he realised she must have been referring to Legolas.

"Aye, _that_, and a number of other things, I would imagine." He said as he gazed towards the camp too. "But you'd be better off asking Elrohir for more information about Legolas, as he actually knows the prince quite well! Both Elladan and Elrohir have a good friendship with Legolas!" Beriadan said as he turned his gaze back to Lynwen.

Lynwen's heart skipped a beat as she heard Beriadan's words. She'd completely forgotten about what Legolas had said earlier that afternoon when they'd first met. And now Beriadan had just reminded her.

"Is Elrohir here!?" Lynwen asked excitedly, as she turned her head to look at the Rivendell guard again, even though she couldn't clearly make him out in the darkness.

But Beriadan furrowed his brow in confusion as he looked at the overjoyed expression upon her face. "No Lynwen, you know that Elrohir is with Elladan and Estel in the north." He said, a little confused by her statement.

"But, Legolas asked my ada, when we came upon the wood-elves earlier today, why he was here so soon after Elladan and Elrohir?" She said, almost frantically trying to remind Beriadan of that comment, and wanting nothing more than for Elrohir to be here too.

But Beriadan sighed a little, as he knew that Lynwen was going to be a little disappointed at his next words. "Legolas was referring to the expedition, Lynwen. Mirkwood was one of the last places we passed through on our way back home to Imladris, just around four months ago."

Lynwen couldn't stop the overwhelming disappointment from enveloping her completely. She would have given anything to see Elrohir again, and didn't know how much longer she could go on without him at her side. She missed him so much!

"I see." Was all she could say in response to Beriadan, her head now tilted as she gazed solemnly towards the ground.

Beriadan reached out and gently placed his hand on her shoulder, causing Lynwen to look up at him.

"He'll be back in Imladris before you know it! And you'll be there, ready to greet him when he does." He said with a genuine smile upon his face. "Come on." He then said, as he gestured his head towards the camp. "We've been gone long enough, and they'll be sending out a search party for us if we don't return soon."

With that, Lynwen and Beriadan made their way back towards the sounds of the travelling party, and the faint glow of the campfire.


	16. Abandoned in Mirkwood

_**Just want to say a big thank you for the feedback I've received so far! It really helps me to know what people think of this story so, thanks! :)**_

_**And just to make sure you've all read chapter 15, before this one. :)**_

Chapter 16 - Abandoned in Mirkwood

It was early the following evening when they finally made it to the Halls of Thranduil. Lynwen hadn't known what to expect, but she certainly hadn't been expecting the sight that she was met with. It appeared as if the whole realm was built into a cave, completely closed off from the outside world, with an enormous set of iron doors as the only way in, or out.

A few extra wood-elves appeared to retrieve the horses from the Rivendell group, after they had all crossed the arched stone bridge that connected the forest to the entrance to the Halls, with a river flowing underneath. Lynwen was stood patiently outside the entrance doors as she awaited the rest of her group to dismount their horses and collect their packs. While she waiting for everyone else to get organised, she started to take in her surroundings, noticing how this part of the forest didn't look like the rest of the woodland that they had been trekking through for the past five days. This part of the forest looked like she expected any woodland to look like, with many healthy looking trees of dark to light shades of lush greens, with many flowers and other plant life, mixed in and intertwined amongst each other. And oxygen! There seemed to be an abundance of it here, and she wasted no time in lifting her head up towards the dusk-filled sky and inhaling deeply, relishing in the warm glow of the setting sun warming her face. After she slowly opened her eyes again, she walked to the edge of the landing area they were all stood on, and looked down at the river that seemed to separate the forest from the entrance to the Halls. As she looked over the edge, she suddenly noticed how high up they were, and how the river was gushing by extremely fast. She compared it to the extremely slow flowing river from back home in Rivendell where her and Elrohir had frequented for swims, amongst other activities! She couldn't help a smile breaking across her face at that last wonderful memory of her and Elrohir in that river the night before he had left for the North, and hoping that it wouldn't be too long before they would be in each other's arms again.

But the loud thundering sound of this new river, gushing quickly in front of her, woke her from her thoughts.

"It's called the Forest River." Elrond said, as he came to stand to the side of her. "It runs from the Grey Mountains to the north, and ends up in Long Lake to the east of here." He said as he gestured his hands in the directions that he'd just specified.

But Lynwen hadn't looked at her father, and instead, kept her gaze firmly fixed on the flowing waters below her. She merely nodded in response to her father, finding herself getting lost in her new surroundings again.

Elrond smiled affectionately at the way her eager eyes were taking in every little detail of these new surroundings, and allowed her a few more moments before he gently wrapped his arm around her shoulders, causing Lynwen to turn her head to look at him.

"Come." He said softly, his smile still just as wide, as he guided her away from the edge of the landing so that they could follow everyone else in through the entrance doors to the Halls.

Lynwen was glad that she'd taken the time to inhale the fresh air outside because, just as she had suspected from the outside, this realm was built into a number of caves, each one being connected by a series of tunnels and pathways, suspended high up in the air. It was very dark within the realm, with only a few openings, way up in the roof of the cave, letting in a few beams of sunlight here and there, with torches fixed sporadically to the cave's walls, giving the cavern the rest of its dim light. The air was very close, and seemed somewhat damp to breath, as if they were surrounded by water.

As they walked along one of the winding pathways, Lynwen glanced down over the side to see if she could make out anything down below. It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the dark, but after a few seconds she could make out a series of small streams running far below them, and brought her eyes upwards to see a few small waterfalls cascading down the inner walls of the realm surrounding them, flowing in to the streams below. After allowing her eyes to adjust some more to this new dark environment, she then noticed the detail and craftsmanship that had gone into sculpting out this kingdom, seeing how they were surrounded by beautifully carved pillars that rose right up into the roof of the cave, and intricately detailed archways that were wonderfully carved out of the rock, leading to other winding pathways that disappeared into the distance. It was actually a spectacular sight, and one that Lynwen found breathtaking.

She was so completely an utterly lost as she took in the grand, and unusual, sights around her, that she found herself accidently walking into the back of one the Rivendell guards, not realising that the group at come to a stop.

"Ooh, sorry!" She hastily said to the guard in front of her as she quickly steadied herself, earning herself a, somewhat, dirty look from the guard in question.

She noticed just up ahead that Beriadan was now chuckling to himself after seeing her little stumble, to which she cast him a humorous scowl in retaliation.

"My Lord Elrond, my father is ready to see you. I will escort you into the throne room." She heard Legolas say from the front of the group, but she couldn't see him as she appeared to have ended up at the very back of the party. And even with her standing on her toes, she found that she just wasn't tall enough to see over the tops of their heads.

"The rest of you will wait here to be escorted to some rooms where you can rest, bathe, and seek some comfort." She heard Legolas say, before she could just make out the top of her father's head, disappearing through a doorway to their left. Lynwen felt a little disappointed that her father had been instructed to go into the throne room alone, for she had been really looking forward to meeting Thranduil! She'd never met a king before, and wondered what he would be like!

She turned her attention back to the Rivendell guards in front of her as she saw them starting to move on again. They were a bit slow moving as the winding pathway they were stood on was quite narrow, and so Lynwen just patiently stood still at the back of the group until the guards had started to move forward again. She saw Beriadan just a few people up ahead, and made to catch up with him, unsure of where it was they were being taken to, when she suddenly felt a hand grab a hold of her upper arm, firmly stopping her in her pursuit. She quickly turned around to see who it was who had stopped her, and regretfully found herself face to face with Legolas. Her heart skipped a beat in sheer terror as she looked at the way his steely blue eyes were boring into her with their intimidating iciness.

"You will follow me." He said coldly, as he loosened his grip on her arm, dropping his hand back to his side.

Lynwen gulped in panic at the thought of going _anywhere _with him! And she turned her head back around in search of the Rivendell guards, especially for Beriadan, as she frantically looked for some sort of reassurance from someone. But to her dismay, she saw that the guards were way up ahead now, and almost out of her eyesight, as they slowly disappeared into the darkness up ahead. She slowly brought her head back around to face the blond elf standing in front of her, noticing how he was holding a sword encased in it's sheath in his right hand, and his two long knives and bow, were still strapped to his back.

Regardless of Beriadan's comforting words to her the night before, she still felt immensely intimidated by Legolas, and wasn't sure if she felt comfortable going anywhere with him, especially since he was so heavily armed! And to make matters a million times worse, she now noticed that with the departure of the Rivendell guards, and her father's entry into the throne room, she was now completely alone with him!

"Unless, of course, you would prefer to bathe in front of the guards?" Legolas curtly suggested, as he gestured his arm behind her, signalling in the direction in which the Rivendell guards had just gone.

Lynwen just continued to look at him, clearly seeing the frustration and impatience in his face as he waited for her to acknowledge his request. Of course she wouldn't want to humiliate herself and bathe in front of the Rivendell guards, but right now, looking at the two options laid out before her, she could either go somewhere unknown, and alone, with Legolas, or indeed, embarrass herself beyond words by having to bare herself naked in front of the Rivendell guards. Well, at this moment, seeing the way Legolas was still looking at her with a murderous glare, the latter of the two options was starting to look very appealing, indeed!

But she knew that wasn't an option, and so she knew she had no choice but to follow the prince's lead.

"I'm sorry My Lord... Your Highness... umm..." Lynwen stumbled over her words, suddenly realising that she didn't know how she should be addressing him. "...Please lead the way." She finally said, as she smiled at him politely.

Legolas just frowned at her before abruptly turning away, and changing direction to walk up a new pathway that led off the one that they were standing on. Lynwen started a little jog to try to keep up with the long, powerful strides of the prince, suddenly wishing that she'd packed her backpack a little lighter.

"So Mirkwood seems like a lovely place!" She almost shouted to the prince up ahead, unsure if he'd be able to hear her otherwise, what with him being so far ahead of her. "It's so different from Imladris. It's not what I was expecting at all." She continued in her attempts to try to break the uncomfortable silence that was hanging between the two of them, realising suddenly, that Legolas' abrupt words to her, moments before, was the very first time that he had spoken to her!

But there was no response from Legolas, who just continued to stride quickly up ahead of her, not even turning his head to acknowledge her, behind him.

"So I heard that you're well acquainted with Elladan and Elrohir?" She asked, hoping that the fact her words were now a question as apposed to a statement, would mean that Legolas would now be forced to speak to her. Plus she could never resist the temptation to talk about Elrohir, always wanting to hear other people's tales of him.

But Legolas suddenly stopped walking, but didn't turn around to face her, firmly keeping his back to her. After a few moments of waiting for him to speak, or at least do something, she decided to slowly walk past him, and come to a stop in front of him so that she was now facing him.

He looked at her for a few moments before turning his head to the side, signalling his free hand to the door that he had stopped outside of. "This will be your room." He said matter of factly, as he leant forward and pushed the door open, revealing a dark and dimly lit bed chamber inside.

Lynwen hesitated at the doorway while she glanced back and forth from the prince stood beside her, to the uninviting room through the doorway.

"And in answer to your question, yes, I am well acquainted with Elladan and Elrohir." He said quietly, and a little curtly, as he gazed upon her. "And Elrohir actually spent a lot of his last visit here, talking about you." Legolas said, as he continued to stare at Lynwen, his expression not really showing any kind of emotion.

"Really?!" Lynwen excitedly responded as she now fixed her eyes on the prince, her face clearly showing her sudden enlightened mood change at hearing his words.

Legolas studied her curiously for a few seconds more, before he slowly started to speak, again. "Yes, but it's strange because..." He said as he looked at her with a confused frown upon his face. "...by the way Elrohir spoke of you, I expected you to be a very young child. Certainly not a grown woman. I must say, I was a little confused when Lord Elrond introduced you yesterday. You are nothing like I imagined." He said with his smooth, steely voice, as he continued frowning at her in confusion.

Lynwen just smiled at this, remembering back to that morning when her and Elrohir and met for the first time after his return home from the expedition. And how she would never forget his confused and startled expression as he continued to lay in his bed speechless, while he was clearly trying to work out who she was. "Yes, I think Elrohir also had a bit of a surprise when he saw me after he returned home from the expedition." She said, as she laughed a little to herself, at the memory.

And to her astonishment, Legolas suddenly broke out into a smile while a slight chuckle escaped his lips, as he momentarily shared in the laughter at Lynwen's statement. This was now the second time in the last two days that she'd seen Legolas smile, and she wondered why he was always so serious. It amazed her how different he looked when he smiled, certainly not menacing, but just kind, sincere, and even gentle...

But after only a few moments, his smile was gone, and his serious icy appearance was back again. And with a slight shift of his feet, and a firm bow of his head, he then turned from Lynwen, and walked away back down the pathway that they had just travelled up, throwing her one last, lingering, glance over his shoulder as he did so.

Lynwen watched his retreating back until he disappeared into the shadows in the distance, before she slowly turned to face the doorway in front of her. She took a deep breath and then hesitantly walked into the dark room that had been allocated as her bed chambers.

Meanwhile, in the throne room, Elrond continued in his attempt to convince his old comrade to accept his pleas regarding Lynwen.

"So, you're saying that you want me to accept your human runt into my household? For how long?!" Thranduil exclaimed, his arrogant demeanour evident in his mocking frown and slight smirk, as he looked upon the Lord of Rivendell.

Elrond was having trouble containing his anger as he answered Thranduil through gritted teeth. "Don't call her that!" He quietly snarled.

But Thranduil just frowned and tilted his head, clearly still mocking Elrond as he continued his fake confusion. "But that's exactly what she is, Elrond. You've made that very clear yourself, by the way you are trying to get rid of her." The Mirkwood king said.

Elrond only sighed, knowing how his attempts to prevent Lynwen from returning to Rivendell with him, must have looked to others. He couldn't stop the stabbing of guilt at his heart as he thought about what it was he was trying to do, and knew he was taking a huge risk. A risk, that he could possibly end up losing his beloved Lynwen forever, for how could she ever bring herself to even look at him in the same way again, after this? And he wouldn't blame her if she did choose never to forgive him.

But he had to stick to his decision, for separating her from Elrohir, was absolutely necessary. He could not stand back and watch both Arwen and Elrohir die from broken hearts. He would not! He had already put his plans in place to try to prevent Arwen and Estel's relationship from developing further, but right now, it was his son's romance with Lynwen that he needed to focus on destroying.

"Thranduil, let me ask you something." Elrond said quietly, as he looked upon the king with a defeated and sorrowful expression upon his face. "What would _you _do if it was Daeron or Legolas who had fallen in love with a mortal?"

Thranduil immediately stiffened at Elrond's words, his expression changing to one of shock, and even a little disgust. "That would never happen!" Thranduil bellowed throughout the throne room, before he quickly continued. "My sons would never reduce themselves to such a level!"

Elrond sighed heavily in defeat, for the conversation just seemed to be going around in circles. "Ok, Thranduil, I can see that you will never understand my predicament, nor my actions to try to rectify the issue. But I ask of you to please, accept Lynwen into your household. It will only be for a short time, just long enough for Elrohir to find something else to attract his attention. She will be of no disruption to you, I promise." Elrond said, as his expression softened somewhat as his thoughts drifted to Lynwen, before he slowly continued. "She's a good girl, with a lot of respect, and who is well schooled. She is also very well trained in all domestic duties, and could help out with cooking, sewing and mending, among other things!" Elrond said, desperately trying to sell Lynwen's good hearted nature to the stone hearted king, before him.

"And for what reason would I just accept her into my household?" Thranduil asked.

Elrond looked into the king's eyes, his expression serious, and his stare deeply penetrating into Thranduil's being. "Because, every time you send a parchment to Imladris requesting aid, I always deliver." Elrond said, sternly reminding Thranduil of the few occasions in recent years, when Rivendell guards had been sent to assist Mirkwood. "And now, as a favour to me, I ask that you please accept Lynwen into your realm." Elrond said.

Thranduil looked at him for a few moments, realising that he did in fact, owe something to the Lord of Rivendell, realising that even though he'd only ever sent Legolas to Imladris three times in the past requesting aid, Elrond had never once refused his requests for assistance. Thranduil took a deep breath and sighed heavily before he answered. "Fine! Your human reject can stay here! We could use another pair of hands to help out around here, anyway."

Elrond cringed at Thranduil's description of his beloved daughter. "Her name is Lynwen." Elrond quietly snarled, his eyes boring right into the king's.

But Thranduil just waved his hand, as if dismissing Elrond's comment as non-important. "Yes yes, whatever her name is, she can stay here for the foreseeable future." The king replied flippantly.

"And I ask you, to please keep this a secret, as she can't know what it is that I am planning." Elrond said, his anger at the king disappearing, and instead being replaced with utter guilt and sorrow. "I plan to be gone before she has a chance to even realise my absence. That way, she will be unable to follow." He finally said, his head now tilted to the floor as he heard his own words. He knew at that moment that he'd never be able to forgive himself for what he was going to do, but just hoped that Lynwen would, someday, understand the reasons for his actions. But he very much doubted that that day would ever come.

"Now, don't tell me you rode all this way just to be rid of the human?" Thranduil asked curiously.

Elrond sighed heavily, sifting through his last lingering thoughts about what he had just arranged for Lynwen, feeling utter sadness engulf him at the thought that he was going to leave her stranded in a strange place, with no one that she knew. But he knew that he needed to pull himself together, somewhat, if he intended to carry out this plan without her suspecting anything. He lifted his head back up to look at Thranduil, and locked eye contact with him for a few moments before he slowly began to speak. "No, Thranduil. I also need to talk to you about the growing evil that is casting itself throughout Middle Earth. I fear that soon enough, it will be something that cannot be ignored..."

But just at that moment, Legolas entered through the door of the throne room at the same time that Elrond was cut off by Thranduil's rapidly rising voice. "Don't you stand there and tell me about the evil that descends itself upon us, Elrond! I've been fighting it away from my very doorstep for longer than I care to remember!" Thranduil shouted at the Lord of Rivendell, his notorious fiery temperament evident in his booming voice, as he stared at Elrond, his eyes alight with fury.

Elrond could only bring himself to sigh heavily at his old friend standing before him, wishing that he would understand just how much of a threat was growing throughout the lands. He noticed that Legolas had now come to stand beside his father while looking at Elrond with curiosity etched into his young, fair features.

"I appreciate that, Thranduil, but you have to understand that the darkness does not stop in Mirkwood. It is growing at a rapidly alarming rate in Mordor, much more than it is in Dol Guldur!" Elrond retaliated.

"And what concern is it of mine, what happens in Mordor?" Thranduil asked, his voice at a slightly lower volume, but no less angry.

"Because if the One Ring is ever found again, Thranduil, then Sauron will have the strength to destroy us all!" Elrond said sternly, seeing that his words had momentarily startled the king into a few moments of stunned silence.

But Legolas, he noticed, was just looking at him with keen interest, eagerly awaiting Elrond to continue.

"And I have reason to believe that the ring has, indeed, already been discovered." Elrond calmly said, his voice now quiet, not wanting to risk their conversation being overheard.

Thranduil's eyes widened with surprise as he remained silent for a few moments more, clearly contemplating this piece of surprising information. "What makes you believe it has been discovered again? And by whom?" Thranduil asked, his voice also brought to a lower volume, as he stared at Elrond with a mixture of fury and panic.

Elrond noticed that, unlike his father, Legolas was instead looking at him with utmost fascination and intrigue, as if the young prince was hanging on every word that the Lord of Rivendell spoke, excitedly awaiting him to continue. Elrond took a deep breath, before slowly continuing. "I don't know whom possesses the ring, but my sons told me in great detail about the developments that they witnessed in Mordor, and the strength in forces that are growing there. They even saw the Ring Wraiths on two occasions, up in the north, clearly hunting something."

"But that's not evidence enough that the ring of power has been discovered." Thranduil said. "They could just be searching aimlessly. Let's not forget that the Ring Wraiths are forever tied to that ring and to the Dark Lord, doomed to be hunting it, and serving him, for all eternity." Thranduil reminded him.

"Yes, but..." Elrond said before pausing a moment as he looked down to his hand, fingering the gold band around his middle finger, the blue gemstone attached to it, momentarily catching what little light the dimly lit room, cast. He continued to rub the gold band around his finger for a few moments, before he slowly continued to speak. "...I can sometimes sense the One Ring, as if it is being used by someone." Elrond said, as he continued to look down at Vilya, one of the rings of power that was given to him by Gil-galad, many years before.

Thranduil's eyes widened with shock at hearing this. "You must take it off, Elrond!" He quickly said as he pointed to the gold band upon the Rivendell Lord's finger. "He will use it to wield you!" Thranduil continued, his voice sounding panicked.

But Elrond just smiled slightly at the Mirkwood king's sudden unease, looking up to see his face strewn with fear and dread. "No Thranduil..." Elrond said as he shook his head slightly. "...I can only sense it slightly, and not very often. It's as if someone very weak, and even innocent, is in possession of the One Ring. Whoever it is, clearly doesn't understand, or is unable to use the ring as it was initially intended. But even so, if I can sense its use, then I'm sure the Dark Lord can, too. Which is why, I suspect, the Wraiths are being seen regularly, again. We know that Sauron has now openly declared himself in Mordor, and that his armies are growing rapidly. So I do fear, my friend, that we may have another war upon Middle Earth, fast approaching us."

Legolas' eyes widened with shock at this, but he continued to remain silent beside his father. Thranduil just continued to look at Elrond for a few moments, his expression clearly showing the shock he was feeling, but he, also, remained silent, clearly processing the information that Elrond had just given them.

Elrond took a deep breath as he readied himself to speak again. "You remember the last time you and I fought side by side, Thranduil?" Elrond quietly asked.

Thranduil's expression dropped somewhat at hearing this, as he remembered back to that most dreadful time in his life. He stared at Elrond with a mixture of fright and anger flashing in his eyes. "Of course I remember it, Elrond! My father was slain, right before my very eyes!" Thranduil's voice boomed around the throne room, his frightful stare concentrated on the Lord of Rivendell standing before him.

"And it's what our children may end up having to experience, too." Elrond spoke quietly, as he gestured his hand at Legolas.

Thranduil turned his head to look at his son standing beside him, his eyes softening slightly as Legolas looked up to meet his father's gaze. Thranduil looked upon his son for a few more moments before sighing heavily, his head turning back to look at Elrond. "I don't understand what it is that you want me to do, Elrond." Thranduil said, his voice a lot more quiet and calm than it was moments before.

Elrond brought his hand up to his forehead and started rubbing his brow while sighing deeply. "I don't know, Thranduil." He said while looking down at the floor, contemplating what the Mirkwood king had just asked him. "I wonder if we should gather armies and meet The Dark Lord head on... but then I think about how our people are leaving these shores frequently, and wonder if this is no longer a problem of the elves..." Elrond trailed off, his head still tilted down as he continued contemplating.

"We should fight!" Legolas' words startled both Thranduil and Elrond, as they both looked up at the young prince.

"Silence, Legolas! You know not of what you speak!" Thranduil demanded of his son.

"But I've seen it ada, the darkness descending upon us. We must fight back!" Legolas bravely continued.

"I said, silence!" Thranduil's incredibly loud voice ordered Legolas to be quiet, while his eyes bored into the young prince, daring him to disobey him again.

Legolas obeyed, and looked down to the floor, feeling frustrated again at his father's stubbornness. Legolas had tried to explain to his father on a number of occasions about how the evil he was fighting within the forest of Mirkwood, almost on a daily basis, was increasing. The enemies growing bolder with each day, advancing on the borders of the kingdom more and more. But his father had refused to listen, seeming content at just remaining hidden within the caves of his realm, and pretending that the outside world didn't exist.

Thranduil turned his attention back to Elrond, reluctantly dragging his deadly stare away from his son before he spoke to the Lord of Rivendell. "Well Elrond, I don't believe that what happens outside of Mirkwood, is any concern of mine, or of my people." Thranduil brought his hand up to silence his son beside him, as he sensed that Legolas was about to protest again, but kept his gaze fixed upon Elrond, as he continued to talk. "And if you do decide to descend war upon Sauron, then me and my people will not be a part of it." Thranduil finally said, his face showing his defiance.

Elrond sighed, knowing that the stubborn king standing before him, was not going to be easy to convince. "Thranduil. If Sauron finds the ring, we will have no choice but to fight against him. Just like we did before..."

But he was cut off by Thranduil's rising voice. "You just said yourself, Elrond, that our people are leaving these shores. So why should I care what happens to this land? Especially lands that are beyond my borders?"

Elrond sighed, knowing that Thranduil probably wasn't going to understand what he was feeling, and the responsibility he felt at ensuring the safety of all the free peoples of Middle Earth. He couldn't explain it, himself, but he felt an overwhelming obligation to fight for this land, unable to just turn his back on it and flee to the Undying Lands. Plus, he knew that Estel and Lynwen would never be able to sail with him, and so he needed to ensure that they would always be safe, and be free to live their lives in a land free of evil.

He looked at Thranduil, seeing that usual defiant glare in his eyes, but noticed that Legolas seemed to be looking at him with what appeared to be a mixture of sympathy and, determination, possibly?

"Ok Thranduil, I can see that we are never going to feel the same way about this, or agree on a course of action." Elrond said, his voice quiet and sounding defeatist. "I just hope that Sauron never re-discovers the ring..." Elrond trailed off, as he found himself deep in thought at the horrifying prospect.

Legolas sighed heavily, which earned him a stern look from his father, before Thranduil faced Elrond once more. "I just don't believe that this is our fight." Thranduil said calmly. "Not anymore." He finally said, as he continued to look upon Elrond.

Elrond nodded subtly, knowing that there wasn't going to be any further discussion on the subject, and just remained silent.

"You must be hungry!" Thranduil announced suddenly, his voice sounding sprightly, and breaking the tension that was hanging heavily on the air. "And so must your companions. I will arrange for us all to meet in a few hours in the dining room." Thranduil then turned his attention to his son. "Legolas, show Elrond to his chambers, and then get a message to the kitchens that we will need to have dinner ready for the Imladris party."

Legolas nodded his acceptance at his father, and started to head in the direction of the door to exit the throne room, just hovering momentarily to wait for Elrond to follow.

"I will see you at dinner, Elrond." Thranduil said, before turning and walking away towards another doorway on the opposite side of the room, swiftly exiting through the archway, leaving the Lord of Rivendell stood there.

Elrond stood looking at the doorway that Thranduil had exited from, for a few moments, with Thranduil's refusal to assist, or even acknowledge, the growing threat of Sauron, playing heavily on his mind, before he slowly turned to face Legolas, following his lead out of the throne room.

As they exited, Legolas promptly closed the door behind them before turning to face Elrond, his face showing some sort of determination, and even, relief. "My Lord Elrond, my father doesn't understand the threat that is descending itself upon us. I have tried on many occasions to make him listen, for I have seen it with my own eyes! I fight it almost on a daily basis, and I've seen the evil increasing over the years." Legolas said, pausing for a few moments as he looked down at the ground, taking a deep breath before continuing. "My father hides away within these halls, refusing to accept what is happening outside." Legolas said quietly, his voice sounding a little distant.

Elrond brought up his hand and rested it upon Legolas' shoulder, causing the young prince to look up at him. "Your father has always found it very difficult to accept the untimely deaths of your mother and grandfather. I think... he even blames himself for their deaths." Elrond said quietly, gently even, knowing that he was bringing up some sensitive subjects for the young elf standing before him. "I do not blame him for turning his back on what is happening outside of these walls, for facing the threat that is increasing within this forest, can only remind him of the painful loss of your mother." Elrond said, seeing how his words had caused a great deal of hurt to Legolas, the reminder of the murder of his mother, clearly still affecting him greatly. "And any mention of The Dark Lord, will instantly take him back to the death of his father, your grandfather." Elrond said.

"I never knew my grandfather." Legolas said suddenly, but his voice quiet and his eyes tilted to the ground again as he looked deep in thought.

"Your grandfather, Oropher, was a wonderful ellon." Elrond said, as his hand gently squeezed Legolas' shoulder, his voice full of genuinity. "He was a great ruler, and was dearly loved by his people. It was not his time to go..." Elrond's sentence trailed off, regret of Oropher's untimely death, evident in the tone of his voice.

They remained silent for a few moments before Legolas slowly lifted his head up to look at Elrond. The sorrow that had been evident in his young eyes just moments before, was now replaced with a mixture of anger and determination. "My lord..." Legolas said, his voice sounding much more energised. "I will gladly support you in any mission and attack you inflict upon The Dark Lord! I am tired of sitting idly by, while the rest of Middle Earth is being conquered and destroyed!" Legolas paused for a few seconds, before he slowly continued speaking. "And I want vengeance for my mother and grandfather." He said, his voice showing his devotion to the memory of his beloved relatives.

Elrond smiled affectionately at the young ellon before him, his dedication to his mother and grandfather, touching his heart greatly. "Hannon le, Legolas. (Thank you). I will remember your offer if ever I need your assistance in this matter."

Legolas smiled in return while firmly nodding his head once, silently acknowledging Elrond's thanks. "Come. I will show you to your chambers."

And with that, Elrond followed Legolas' lead up the winding pathways, and into the darkness up ahead.

xxx

A couple of hours later, Lynwen was being led towards the dining room by a female elf, who had been sent to collect her. Lynwen had politely introduced herself to this elleth as they had been hastily making their way down the pathways, Lynwen instantly being reminded of the way she had struggled to keep up with Legolas just a couple of hours before, but this elleth had only nodded at Lynwen's introduction, not even speaking to offer her own name in return. Lynwen was used to being ignored in Rivendell, it was something she'd had to endure her whole life. But from her first impressions of the Mirkwood elves so far, they seemed to ignore her in a different way. It was as if they were constantly on high alert, suspicious of everyone and everything! And so, whereas the Rivendell elves ignored her in a snobbish sort of way, their only issue being that they believed that Lynwen was beneath them, the Mirkwood elves seemed to ignore her as if she was a danger, something that couldn't be trusted. And so, Lynwen decided to stop in her attempt at a conversation with the elleth, and walked in silence the rest of the way to the dining room.

As they entered in through the large wooden double doors, Lynwen could see that it was quite obvious that she was the last to arrive, for all the Rivendell guards were already seated, as was her father, who was seated beside, whom she assumed was, Thranduil. He was wearing a crown of berries and ivy upon his head, his position at the head of the table showing that he was probably the king. Sat on the other side of Thranduil was a younger looking ellon with long black hair and a circlet of silver upon his head. And beside him, was Legolas. Her stomach turned with dread as she realised that a seat had been saved for her next to her father, which would mean that she would be sat directly opposite to Legolas, forced to face him for however long this meal was going to last.

"Lynwen! There you are!" Elrond said from his seat as he turned to face her. "Come and sit." He said as he gestured to the chair next to him.

Lynwen reluctantly walked over to the table, catching Beriadan's eye in the process, who was sat much farther down the table. He threw her a reassuring smile and a subtle wink, before she slowly sat down in her seat.

"Why aren't you wearing something more appropriate?!" Elrond whispered sternly to Lynwen, noticing that she was wearing a pair of dark green riding pants, along with her black riding boots, and a white buttoned shirt. She hadn't even attempted to style her hair in any way, and it was messily framing her face, and loosely resting just below her shoulders, completely unbound.

"These are the only clothes I have." Lynwen replied quietly.

Elrond's face became more stern, and even a little angry after hearing her admission. "You mean to tell me that you didn't bring any dresses with you?"

Lynwen shook her head slightly before answering. "No, ada. I thought that a dress would not be appropriate for travelling in. And Arwen agreed with me." She whispered.

Elrond sucked in his breath, clearly not happy with this discovery, but decided that now was not the time to get angry with his daughter. He sat back up straight and decided that he'd better introduce Lynwen to their hosts.

"Lynwen, this is the king of Mirkwood, Thranduil." Elrond said as he gestured to the blond elf sat to his right at the head of the table. Thranduil tilted his head at her in greeting, but remained silent.

"And this is his eldest son, and heir, Daeron." Elrond said as he gestured his hand to opposite from him, at the black haired ellon sat to Thranduil's right.

Daeron immediately stood up from his chair and reached across the table to Lynwen, to which she hesitantly reached out her hand to his, not sure if this was what he was seeking or not. She was a bit surprised when Daeron gently took a hold of her hand before bending down to place a subtle kiss on the back of her hand, his blue eyes never leaving hers. "It's a pleasure, my lady." He said softly, a slight smile gracing his lips as his eyes continued to stare into hers, almost seductively. After a few lingering seconds of his lips skimming over her skin, he released her hand, with his fingers slowly gliding over hers in his retreat, and sat back down in his seat. Lynwen felt herself become a little flushed with his greeting, never before being acquainted with anyone as forward as him during a first meeting. But she was quickly brought back to her senses by her father continuing to speak.

"And of course, you already know Legolas." Elrond said as he gestured to the blond prince sat beside Daeron.

Lynwen just nodded at her father's last introduction, as she quickly glanced at Legolas out of the corner of her eye, seeing how he was looking at her with that same stare that unnerved her greatly. She quickly looked away from him again, bringing her attention to the plate in front of her.

Throughout the meal, Lynwen remained mostly silent, not really understanding the topics that her father and Thranduil were discussing. Daeron was very active in the discussion, and was inputting his views and opinions, with his comments being taken seriously by his father and Elrond. Lynwen noticed how Legolas had inputted a few of his suggestions into the discussion as well, but that his comments were mostly ignored by his father and his brother, with only Elrond gladly taking his opinions on board.

Lynwen found her thoughts drifting to the two brothers sat opposite her, and at just how different they were. There was the obvious difference in the hair colour, with Daeron's hair being jet-black, and Legolas' being an almost white blond. But there were obvious differences in their personalities that she could see, even after only being with them for a couple of hours. Legolas was mostly quiet, seeming almost distant and deep in thought at times, whereas Daeron was the complete opposite. The elder brother was overly confident, appearing almost arrogant at times, and seemed to be enjoying his high standing within the royal family of Mirkwood, even taking advantage of his title by his subtle flirting with a few of the elf-maids who were serving the meal. It would seem that Daeron was a bit of a catch in the realm, if the elf-maids' giggles and flirtatious smiles at his constant philandering, were anything to go by.

A few times during the meal Lynwen had glanced up from her plate to see that Daeron was looking at her over the brim of his chalice as he was taking a sip of his wine. She noticed how he wasn't looking at her as if he was deciding whether he should slit her throat or not. Not in the way Legolas seemed to look at her. But Daeron was always looking at her with a flirtatious glint in his eyes, and a slight smirk across his face. He never looked away whenever Lynwen caught him staring at her, and only held her gaze with his provocative stare, even winking at her on one occasion. The only way she could describe his actions towards her, was sleazy. Slimy, even. His stare, alone, made her want to scrub herself raw in the shower, to be rid of his seedy gazes that seemed to crawl over her skin. And so, as she already did with Legolas, Lynwen now felt very uncomfortable in Daeron's company, as well. But for very different reasons.

Lynwen was grateful when the meal had come to an end and was able to excuse herself from the table so she could go back to her chambers. Not that her chambers, here, were very appealing, but anywhere was better than having to sit in the company of Thranduil and his sons. As she made her way to the dining room doors, along with most of the Rivendell party, she felt someone grab a hold of her hand amongst the mad exodus. She turned around to see that it was Daeron who had hold of her, and he was looking at her with a lustful hunger in his eyes, as if he was sizing up his next sexual conquest. "I hope that we get the opportunity to spend more time together, during your stay here." He said to her with his smooth, seductive voice, his deep blue eyes, never leaving hers.

Lynwen couldn't deny that Daeron was attractive. Incredibly handsome, even! But the problem was, was that he knew it, too. And to Lynwen, this just made him very _unattractive!_

She very slowly dragged her hand out of his grasp, and not wanting to be rude, she politely replied. "Um, yes, I hope so too, My Lord." She said with a false smile upon her face. She hoped that it wasn't obvious in her voice that Daeron was making her extremely nervous, and so she quickly turned away from him and scurried out of the dining room, and headed straight for her chambers, ensuring that the bedroom door was securely locked behind her.

xxx

The next two days passed by very slowly for Lynwen, as there wasn't much for her to do to fill her time. Her father had been spending most of his time in meetings with Thranduil, discussing who knew what?! And most of the Rivendell guards had offered their services to help out patrolling the borders of Mirkwood which, to Lynwen's dismay, included Beriadan. So she had had no one to keep her company over the last couple of days, and had just spent her time exploring the Halls, and what little safe greenery and garden space they had outside. But there had been a couple of positives over the previous two days, Lynwen thought to herself. And that was the absence of Legolas and Daeron. She knew that Legolas was out patrolling the borders, too, and had to assume that Daeron was as well, for she hadn't seen sight nor sound of him since the meal on the first night. Much to her relief!

After dinner had finished on the third evening, Lynwen, as usual, took herself off to her chambers as her father remained in the dining room with Thranduil. Upon entering her bedroom, she walked over to the double doors on the opposite side of the room, that led out onto a small private balcony which overlooked one of the kept gardens, below. For the past three evenings, Lynwen had spent most of the night out here on the balcony, the heat wave still hanging very heavily throughout this part of Middle Earth, warming the night air. And as she had done every night since arriving in Mirkwood, she gazed up at the cloudless, star-filled sky, wishing that Elrohir was by her side. She missed him terribly. His touches, his companionship, his tender kisses, and the feeling of pure love that he always managed to bring out in her. It had been weeks since she had seen him last, but it felt like years. And as she gazed at the night sky, seeing how the moon was shining just as brightly as it had done during their last night together, she wondered if Elrohir was now doing the same thing, wherever he was. Was he thinking of her? Was he missing her just as much as she was missing him?

"Lynwen?" Elrond's voice broke her from her reverie as he made his way silently across her bedroom and out on to the balcony, coming to a standstill directly beside her. Lynwen didn't turn to face him, and only acknowledged him with her quiet words. "Hello ada." She said, as she continued to look up at the sky.

Elrond looked down at her for a few moments, before also turning his gaze to the sky above. "How are you finding your stay in Mirkwood? I imagine it must feel very different to Imladris." He said softly, his eyes still fixed on the night sky.

Lynwen shrugged her shoulders slightly, and brought her arms out in front of her and placed her hands on the intricately carved hand rail, leaning forward to rest on her elbows. "It's... nice." She lied, not wanting to sound unappreciative of the fact that her father had thought she would like to travel with him to this realm. She didn't say anything else, and instead, brought her gaze down from the sky to focus on the gardens below.

"Your room is very nice!" He said, a little too enthusiastically.

"It's a cave." Lynwen replied sarcastically, while still fixing her gaze on the gardens below.

"Yes, yes, but... but it's spacious, and... and you have a balcony! You don't have a balcony in Imladris!" He said triumphantly, pleased with himself that he'd found some positives about her room.

Lynwen just shrugged her shoulders, but didn't answer him. She wondered why he seemed to be desperately trying to sell these chambers to her? It wasn't as if these were going to become her permanent quarters, for surely, they weren't going to be remaining here in Mirkwood for much longer? Well, she certainly hoped they weren't, anyway.

Elrond turned his head to look down at her, seeing, and sensing, the sorrow that she was obviously feeling, and he started to wonder if he could bring himself to carry out his plan of leaving her behind. He loved her as if she was his own flesh and blood, and felt his heart stabbing with pain at how much hurt he might possibly cause her if he did decide to carry out his plan. But he knew he had to, for as much as he loved Lynwen, he just couldn't bare the thought of his son possibly sacrificing his immortality for her. It was painful enough to know that one day he would end up losing Lynwen, but to think that he may end up losing Elrohir too, was just too much for him to take. And looking at her now, seeing how deep in thought she was as she gazed at the gardens below, he didn't need to be a mind reader to know of what, or even whom, she was pining after.

"It seems like only yesterday when Elladan and Elrohir found you and brought you home." He said, gently breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen between them, which caused Lynwen to look up at him. His face broke out into a smile as he looked upon her with deep affection in his eyes, before he continued talking. "You were so small, such tiny little fingers and toes." He said as he mimicked their size with his fore finger and thumb. "And you had the biggest blue eyes that I'd ever seen." He sighed in contentment as he remembered back to that particular day, his affectionate smile still spread across his face. "And according to your brothers, you didn't stop crying from the moment they discovered you, until they had arrived back in Imladris. And it was only when they placed you in my arms, did you finally fall silent. You gazed up at me with those beautiful eyes of yours, all watery from your tears, and you just didn't stop staring at me. It was as if you were fascinated by the sheer sight of me, and I have no idea why! But it gave me a bit of a complex, I have to say!" He said with a laugh, which also incited a giggle from Lynwen. "But I knew from that moment on, that I would always love you as my own daughter." He looked down at the ground now, looking a bit awkward as he shifted his feet slightly.

Lynwen couldn't help but smile at hearing his words, and at seeing that he'd turned a little red from embarrassment. She realised at that moment that she'd never seen her father look so awkward as he did right now, for he was always so confident. But it was endearing to see this softer side to him, for she couldn't remember him ever speaking so openly of his feelings to her before. But it also made her wonder why, after eighteen years, that he was suddenly acting all emotional with her. It was very strange, and it just wasn't like him to be so open.

Elrond suddenly started to softly chuckle to himself as he continued reminiscing about the past, causing Lynwen to smile even wider as she continued to look at him. His laugh was so infectious, maybe because it was such a rare occurrence to hear it.

"What?" She asked him, as she also found herself laughing slightly at seeing him.

Elrond lifted his head back up and looked down at her, smiling widely. "Nothing in particular, iell nin. I'm just thinking about different things from your childhood.

Lynwen continued to look at him, her face lit up with happiness at she eagerly awaited her father to continue.

"You were a bit of a handful as a child, always so full of energy." He said, still smiling widely. "But you were always so very happy and full of glee, interested in everything and everyone. And it was sometimes very tiresome to care for you..." He said, as his expression became softer and full of admiration, reaching out his hand to cup her cheek. "...but I would never change anything about it. And nothing about you." He said quietly as he continued to gaze upon her for a few moments. He then started to chuckle again, dropping his hand from her cheek as he now leant against the hand rail. "I remember this one time when we were all sat down to dinner one evening, you must have been around three years old..." Elrond trailed off as he looked upwards slightly as he tried to remember back. "...We were all present, Elladan, Elrohir, Arwen, and even Estel was home, too. I can't even remember what it was that we were all eating, but whatever it was, you decided that you didn't like it, or you fancied eating something else..." He waved his hand flippantly, emphasising that the reason wasn't important. "...but nothing we could say or do, would encourage you to eat your dinner. Usually, I just would have ignored you and allowed you to go off to bed on any empty stomach to teach you a lesson. But on this particular occasion, you were utterly infuriated by the food before you, and kept throwing the food across the table in sheer temper!" He started laughing now. "It's good that I can laugh about it now, but trust me, I certainly wasn't laughing at the time!"

"No, I can imagine you weren't!" Lynwen said as she also started laughing.

"Your little face was bright red with the anger that was souring through your veins, and your little body was shaking with fury at this food in front of you!" He said, as he continued laughing. "Naturally, I became very cross, and I sternly ordered you to eat your dinner, which only infuriated you even more, causing you to continually shout the word 'No!'. You just kept screaming and shouting the word 'No!', to me, to your brothers, to Arwen..., while pushing your plate across the table every time someone placed it back in front of you! Well, I became so cross by your behaviour, that I stood up and walked over to your chair, demanding that you eat your dinner, even picking up some of the food from your plate, trying to force you to eat it. But you just kept smacking my hand away, sending the food flying across the dining room, while continually shouting that nonsensical word over and over again! They thought I couldn't see them, but your siblings were all secretly laughing behind my back, as you continued to hit me away from you, until you suddenly jumped off your chair and kicked me full force in the shin!"

Lynwen brought her hand up to her mouth in shock, but continued laughing at the funny tale her father was regaling. "What did you do?" She asked him through her laughter.

"Well, I immediately ordered you to your room." He said, while still chuckling at the memory. "But this just seemed to wind you up even more! And as you started to run out of the dining room, I saw you take a slight detour towards the dressers that adorned the area beside the dining room door. And to my utter horror, you started pushing them all over one by one, causing them all to come crashing down onto the floor! We all immediately jumped up from the dining table and started to run to where you were standing, in our attempt to try and stop you. But most of the damage had already been done before we reached your side. And I'll never forget the crashing sound of all the plates and glasses that adorned the dressers, smashing into smithereens across the floor!" He said, his shoulders shaking from where he was laughing so much.

Lynwen continued holding her hand to her mouth in disbelief. "I have no memory of that!" She said, as she continued laughing through her fingers.

"I was just amazed that a three year old was able to find the strength to tip over a number of incredibly heavy wooden objects! Especially at the speed that you did!" He said with a big smile on his face.

Lynwen brought her hand down from her mouth, her eyes still wide with shock, but her smile was still very evident. "I'm sorry, ada." She said quietly, but she couldn't hide the fact that the story was in fact very funny, and was still making her laugh.

Elrond wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close as he kissed the top of her head. "Don't ever apologise for being yourself. I wouldn't have you any other way." He said a little more seriously now, his laughter from moments ago, now completely gone.

Lynwen couldn't help but wonder as to why her father was suddenly acting like this. Reminiscing about her childhood, openly putting his emotions and feelings on display for her to see. It just wasn't like him to be so openly sensitive. He was acting as if he wasn't ever going to see her again. But she decided to push her curious thoughts to the back of her mind, and instead, decided to relish in this sensitive side of her father for as long as possible, while she wrapped her arms firmly around his waist and cuddled into his chest.

A few hours later, Elrond was sat on the edge of Lynwen's bed, stroking her hair back from her face as she slept soundly. They had continued to talk and reminisce about the past, for the remainder of the evening. But now, he was quietly observing her peacefully sleeping form, hating himself for what he was about to do. He leant down slowly, softly placing a kiss upon her forehead. "I love you, iell nin." He whispered, gazing at her for a few more moments. "I hope you can find it in you to forgive me..." He trailed off in a whisper, before he reluctantly stood from the bed, being careful that his movement didn't wake her. He walked over to her vanity table on the opposite side of the room, and placed a sealed envelope against the mirror, hoping that the words it contained inside, would make her understand his reasons. As he made to leave her chambers, he took one last lingering glance at her over his shoulder, not knowing when he would ever see her again. His expression was engraved with the pained guilt that he was deeply feeling, knowing that right at this very moment, she trusted him like any daughter should a father. But that after this, who knew how she would feel about him. Her trust for him would surely be gone.

He sighed deeply while regretfully turning away from her, and slowly exited through the doorway, quietly closing the door behind him.

xxx

The following morning, the sunlight was beaming in through the bedroom window, causing Lynwen to stir from her slumber. She lazily covered her eyes with her forearm, squinting as she tried to adjust to the bright light that was rudely interrupting her sleep, cutting her pleasant dreams, short. After a few seconds of trying to get her bearings, she was regretfully reminded that she was still, very much, in Mirkwood, and still in a dark cave that acted as her bedroom. It had only been a few days since they had arrived in the Woodland Realm, but already she couldn't wait until they arrived back in Rivendell.

After the difficult last few months she'd had in her homeland, what with the elves' reaction to her's and Elrohir's relationship, she never thought she'd miss Rivendell like she did right now. But, laying in this bed, gazing around at the dark stone walls that surrounded her, and knowing that those dreaded brothers, Legolas and Daeron, among the other fearsome elves of Mirkwood, were all probably not too far away, she'd quite happily suffer the dirty looks and the laughter behind her back that the Rivendell elves seemed to have a habit of doing to her, rather than have to spend another second here!

During her gaze around the dark chamber, her attention was drawn towards a cream coloured envelope that was leaning against her mirror on her vanity table. After squinting her eyes, she could see that it was addressed to her, with simply her name written on the front. She scrambled out from under the sheets and walked across the room to the vanity table, instantly ripping open the wax seal on the back, and pulling out the folded piece of paper inside. She instantly recognised her father's handwriting, and wondered why he would feel the need to leave her a letter?

But her question was answered as soon as she began reading the first few lines, as she sunk down onto the stool in front of the table as her legs began to give way. Her emotions began to engulf her body at an alarming rate, causing her to feel slightly faint from shock, as she continued reading the gut-wrenching letter.

_My Dearest Lynwen,_

_Please try to understand why I have to do this. Leaving you here in Mirkwood, is the last thing I want to do, but I feel that I have no other options. When I discovered that you and Elrohir had developed a romantic relationship, it filled my heart with dread. I have seen, first hand, what a relationship between an elf and a human can bring, and I'm sorry to say this, but the only thing a relationship like that can bring, is heartache. For the both of you. And I cannot stand aside and watch that happen to you._

_Knowing that one day, I will end up losing you, tears at my heart, greatly. But it is something that, reluctantly, I must accept. But, the thought that I could end up losing Elrohir, too, is something I just cannot come to terms with._

_I need you to know that I love you greatly, and you will always be a part of this family. You will always be my daughter. Imladris will always be your home. But right now, I think it would be best for you to live here, in Mirkwood, and try to move on with your life. And more importantly, for you to move on from Elrohir._

_I hope that one day, you will be able to find it in yourself to forgive me for what I have done, but please understand that I have done this because I love you._

_I will be long gone by the time you read this letter, and the Rivendell guards will be, too. So please, I ask you, do not attempt to follow us, Lynwen. The roads outside these borders are rife with danger, and I want you to remain safe._

_Look after yourself, iell nin. You will always have a special place within my heart._

_Ada._

Lynwen just stared at the letter, re-reading it over and over again, hoping that she was going to wake from this horrific nightmare that she had suddenly found herself in. How could he!? How could her father do this to her!? She felt so utterly rejected. She had often wondered if the love her father held for her, could rival the love he held for her twin brothers and Arwen. But now, he had finally made his feelings for her quite clear. He had chosen to be rid of her, in favour of her siblings. His children by blood. She had never felt such agonizing pain, as she felt right now. In a matter of minutes, her whole life had been snatched away from her. The only life and family that she had ever known, was gone. She had gone from being, what she assumed was, an equal member of her family, to being nothing but a reject.

All she could do was sit there staring down at the letter in her lap, with her hand firmly grasping her mouth as she desperately tried to stifle her heart-wrenching sobs.


	17. Dumped in a Nightmare

Chapter 17 - Dumped in a Nightmare

Lynwen wasn't sure how long she had been sat there staring at the letter in her lap, as she desperately tried to come to terms with what had just happened. Some part of her was expecting, even hoping, for her father to walk in through the door at any second, laughing at how he'd successfully managed to pull a, albeit very cruel, prank on her.

But she knew her father was not the pulling-a-prank, type. Hell, he wasn't even the laughing, type!

No, this was very real. Her father would never joke about anything. He really had just abandoned her in Mirkwood, and banished her from her family with nothing but this cruel letter to say his goodbyes.

Was this a goodbye forever? How long did he intend on her staying here? Although his letter stated that Imladris would always be her home, did he expect, and even hope, that she would never actually return there?

Lynwen's emotions were now starting to make an erratic change as her heartbreak and anguish were now fast being replaced by anger and fury. How could her own father do this to her?! This was a ruthless act that he had just carried out, instantly ripping out all her trust and love that she had always held for him!

The father she knew and trusted, the one who had raised her so lovingly, would never have inflicted such hurt on her like this, tossing her aside from the rest of the family as if she had never, truly, been a member of it.

She just didn't know him anymore. She realised with horrible truth, that the ellon who had raised her as his own child, was a complete stranger to her. Had the past eighteen years of her life, been a lie! Had she ever meant anything to him?

She screwed up the letter in her hands, and launched it across the room in sheer anger. The idiot! She thought to herself. Once Elrohir hears of what their father had just done to her, he'll travel to Mirkwood immediately to fetch her. And this ridiculous plan that her father had thought he'd panned out so well, would all be for nothing.

She started laughing to herself now while shaking her head at his stupidity, thinking about how her father obviously thought he was so clever. He had no idea that her and Elrohir had been planning to leave Imladris together as soon as he and Elladan arrived home from the north. Hers and Elrohir's relationship was much too solid and fire proof, to be this easily extinguished. And so her father's plan was not going to work, because Elrohir would never allow it! He would come for her as soon as he discovered what had happened. She just had to be patient, and wait.

"The stupid old fool!" She muttered to herself through a false snigger, as she thought about her father's, not so very well thought out, plan.

But her harsh words towards her father, were purely a pretence. Deep down, she still loved him, and her harsh words were her just trying to be brave against the immense hurt and confusion that he had inflicted upon her.

She looked around the bedroom, suddenly realising why her father had been praising it so much last night. He had known that these were going to end up being her permanent chambers. And all the reminiscing he did about the past, his strange behaviour, his publicly displaying his emotions to her... it all made sense now! It was his weird way of saying goodbye.

Thinking about this, upset her even more. She had really enjoyed the time that they had spent together last night, taking pleasure in her father's softer, and more exposed, side. But it had all been fake! His declarations of how much she meant to him, was all a lie! Clearly he hadn't meant any of it. How could he have meant those loving words if he knew what he was planning to do to her, a few hours later?

By the Valar! Was this the only reason he had arranged this trip to Mirkwood?! Had this been something he'd been cooking up in his mind, long before they'd even left Imladris?!

Lynwen couldn't contain the mixture of emotions that were now souring through her body. She could feel a million different feelings, all powering through her at a hundred miles per hour; hurt, betrayal, heartbreak, fury, anger...

"The bastard!" She screamed at the top of her voice as she could no longer contain the eruption of rage that was spilling from her. She flew up from the stool she had been sat on, and suddenly reached across with her hands to violently slide everything off the vanity table in front of her, sending all the many bottles that had been positioned on top, flying across the room.

The sound of all the glass breaking as the bottles came into contact with the wall and floor, was so liberating! It felt so good to exert her anger like this!

But as she slumped back against the wall and slid down to the floor, she realised that smashing up the room, _her_ _room, now_! just wasn't going to be enough to stop this pain and anguish from tearing her heart, right out of her chest.

She hugged her knees to her chest, burying her head in her lap, and just sobbed a whole new bunch of tears. Violent, body-shuddering tears, as all her anger, hurt, distrust, and complete shock, engulfed her body at a lightening speed. She closed her eyes allowing her tears to fall freely down her face, as she started thinking about how she would gladly give anything for Elrohir to be here right now. To have his comforting, safe arms, encircle her, feeling his firmly toned body against hers, silently reassuring her that all would be alright with his affectionate, tender kisses...

But her comforting thoughts were unexpectedly cut short by a pair of strong, masculine arms, wrapping themselves around her upper body, pulling her tightly against his finely chiselled chest, as he stroked the back of her head affectionately.

"Shh, there, there." The smooth, deep voice, spoke softly as his chin rested upon the top of her head, his words sounding so velvety and caressing, that it felt as if his voice had melted through her ears.

But despite the comforting words he spoke, Lynwen instantly stiffened in his embrace as she recognised who the sultry voice belonged to. It was Daeron.

Lynwen quickly pulled herself out of his hold and shuffled away from his kneeling form, sitting herself a good few feet away, as she could only bring herself to stare at him with caution.

But he only smiled at her actions and gazed at her intensely, his eyes full of hunger and lust.

"I heard the sound of glass breaking." He said calmly, as he gestured his hand at the debris surrounding them. He then turned his head back to look at her, his seductive smile gone from his mouth, but it still remained very evidently in his eyes. "I feared you may have been being attacked." He said with a lot of concern in his voice.

But Lynwen suspected that his worry for her was just a pretence. A pretence to get closer to her. Quite literally! Because, as he said those words, he lazily slid himself across the floor towards her, stopping directly by her side. He reached out his hand and cupped her cheek, with his fingers sliding into her hair at a snail's pace, coming to rest above her ear. His eyes remained locked firmly into hers as he slowly leant forward, stopping once his face was at very close proximity to hers. "I heard what happened." He said, barely above a whisper. "I know that they left without you, forcing you to remain here."

Lynwen just gulped due to her unease at how close he was to her, and attempted to lean her head back to escape the closeness that he was forcing upon her. But regretfully, she found that she had the vanity table directly behind her, preventing her from widening the very small space that was currently the only thing separating their bodies.

"Is there anything that I can do to make you feel more at ease?" He asked her in a hoarse whisper, his blue, wanton eyes, boring right into her, terrifying her to her very core.

Lynwen just rapidly shook her head at him, unable to string any words together as she stared straight back at him.

"You know..." Daeron said after a few moments of silence, as his fingers slid into her hair a little bit more, his palm still resting against her cheek. "...Some people may not agree with an elf joining with a human, as your father made quite clear when he took off this morning. But..." He shifted his body forward again, softly sliding one of his knees between her legs, gently forcing her thighs to part slightly, before he continued. "...I, personally, see no problem with such a union." He said with a seductive voice, as a slight smirk graced his lips.

Lynwen just continued to look at him, her eyes slightly wide with shock. And not knowing how to respond to his suggestive remark, she remained silent, frozen to her spot on the floor.

After a few moments of intense silence between them, Daeron's hand slid down her face, then down the entire length of her arm before reaching her hand. He then gently took it in his and brought it to his lips. His kiss against the back of her fingers was light and lingering, his warm breath softly caressing her skin while his deep blue eyes continued to penetrate her very soul.

"Well, I would like to take this opportunity to officially welcome you to Mirkwood, my lady. And I'm sure that your living here, will be a most pleasant experience. For the both of us." He said provocatively.

It took Lynwen a few seconds to gather herself, as she continued to lean back into the vanity behind her, desperately trying to put as much distance between them, as possible. "Um, thank you, your highness." Lynwen stumbled over her words, still unsure as to how she should be addressing the Mirkwood Royal Family, but also due to her feeling so incredibly uncomfortable in Daeron's company.

Daeron's smile grew wider at hearing the way that she had addressed him. He continued to hold her hand against his lips wishing, more than anything, that his mouth could freely explore and discover more areas of her, strange, body.

He had slept with many elleths over his thousand years of life. And there probably weren't many elleths left within the kingdom of Mirkwood, and beyond, who hadn't shared his bed with him at some time or another.

But right now, sitting all hunched up in front of him, was a woman who had captivated his curiosity, like no other. She was shorter than the elleths, much more rough and rugged to look at, and even more flawed in her appearance. But he found these traits of hers, greatly intriguing. She also had a very desirable body that he was unaccustomed to. She had very pleasing smooth, subtle curves, in the way that the elleths didn't have. And his mind couldn't help but wander back to the dinner from a few nights previous, when her hips and been deliciously curving through her tight riding pants, as she had, probably unknowingly, sauntered into the dining room.

And right now, all she was wearing was one of her loose fitted, long-sleeved buttoned shirts, that stopped just below her upper thighs, baring her smooth creamy legs to him. Her unbound, ample bosoms, were protruding through the thin fabric of the shirt, forcing the top few buttons to come undone. That probably had happened during her sleep, he thought to himself, as he excitedly imagined her writhing around between the sheets.

Although he'd come across, and interacted, with humans in the past, he had never actually lain with one before. And this just made the task of getting Lynwen into his bed, an utmost priority above anything else! He had to satisfy his curiosity, and finally know what it would feel like to make love to a human. Especially one as captivating as this one!

"You, My Lady Lynwen, can address me simply, as Daeron. No need for formalities between us." He said huskily against her hand, as he sent her a subtle wink. "Now, why don't I leave you to get dressed, and then I will escort you to breakfast." He said with a sincere looking smile upon his face.

Lynwen could only bring herself to nod her acceptance, while she continued to lean into the table behind her, desperately trying to distance herself from the Mirkwood prince, leering over her.

"Very well." He said, while firmly nodding his head once. "I will come back for you in half an hour." He said as he stood up from the floor, letting go of her hand in the process as he made towards the door.

But he stopped before exiting, turning around to face her, once more. "Yet again. Welcome to Mirkwood, my lady. I'll make it my personal business to ensure that you enjoy your time here." He said with a smile upon his face before turning from her again, leaving her room, and closing the door firmly behind him.

Lynwen could only stare at the closed bedroom door that he had just left from, her tears now long forgotten! And instead, the only emotion that engulfed her body, was the uneasy sensation that Daeron seemed to be able to bring out in her. She knew that he terrified her beyond words, but it was a different kind of terrified to how Legolas made her feel.

With Legolas, she could easily understand why he made her feel so afraid of him. With that murderous glare he always used with her, as if he was contemplating whether or not to plant one of his long knives directly through the centre of her heart, it was only logical for her to fear the younger prince.

But with Daeron, she couldn't easily describe, or even understand, why he terrified her so much. He never looked at her as if he wanted to kill her. Quite the opposite, actually! But he did look at her as if she was a target, of some sort. And Lynwen suspected that she was probably a sexual target.

It was obvious that Daeron was popular among the elleths of Mirkwood, very much like Elrohir was, among the elleths of Rivendell. But even with Elrohir's womaniser ways, he'd never once made Lynwen feel unnerved or uncomfortable when he'd come on to her. His touches and stares hadn't made her skin crawl, and his voice had never made her stiffen with fear.

But Daeron _did _extract these feelings of unease within her with everything that he did and said.

She could easily have brushed off her feelings of nervousness towards Daeron, as a fact that she was remaining loyal to Elrohir, and therefore, didn't want to receive any other male attention. But it wasn't that. She'd received plenty of affection and attention from Éomer, during her short engagement to him. But Éomer's attention didn't elicit feelings of utter repulsion within her. Not in the slightest! She just hadn't been interested in his forthcomings because she had simply been guilty of being in love with somebody else.

So why Daeron's attentions made her feel so uneasy, was a mystery to her. It was confusing. And very unnerving.

xxx

"So now that you're stuck in Mirkwood, what do you intend to do with your time here?" Thranduil looked at Lynwen from his position at the head of the table, his voice sounding curt and insensitive.

Lynwen had hardly touched the breakfast in front of her, what with her still feeling too sick to her stomach, to be able to keep anything down. She looked up from her untouched plate to meet the king's harsh gaze. "Um, I haven't really had a chance to think about it yet." Lynwen said quietly. And it was true. She'd only discovered her father's letter just a couple of hours before now, so understandably, she was still trying to come to terms with being cruelly dumped by one of the people she'd trusted the most.

But, it seemed, Thranduil wasn't going to be compassionate towards her ill-treated feelings.

"Well, there's plenty for you to do around here." He said matter of fact. "You can work in the kitchens, or with the seamstresses. You can mend and sew, can you not?" He asked her with a slightly furrowed brow.

"Yes, your highness." Was all Lynwen could bring herself to say.

"Very well. I know that they always need a lot of help with the mending of the guards' uniforms and armours. So you can start there. Today." He said with a curt not of his head, clearly satisfied that he'd put her to work immediately.

Lynwen only nodded her head slightly in agreement, before catching Daeron's stare at her from across the rectangular table. He was sat to his father's right, with Legolas sitting to his father's left, directly opposite his older brother. And Lynwen had wondered if these were their usual seating positions when they didn't have guests.

Regrettably, Lynwen had found herself in the seat next to Legolas, and wondered if this was to be her permanent seat? But it was either this, or to have to sit next to Daeron. And after this morning's terrifying encounter with the older prince, Lynwen wasn't sure which was worse!

At least Legolas keeps his hands to himself, she thought.

But, she noticed during the duration of breakfast, that Legolas wasn't actually doing a very good job of keeping his stares to himself. A number of times, out of the corner of her eye, she had seen him slyly looking at her from his position next to hers. Whereas his stares towards her weren't anything unusual, what _was_ unusual, was the _way _in which he had been looking at her now. Gone was the murderous glare that she had come to expect from the young prince, and instead, it was replaced with a look of sensitivity, and even a little compassion. His features softened so much when he looked like he wasn't ready to kill something, and it showed Lynwen just how young he actually was. She wondered, in the equivalent of elf years, if they were around the same age as each other?

But it really was, most strange, to see Legolas looking like this. To experience him in a light that wasn't hostile and intimidating, was a welcome relief. And for the first time since she'd met him a number of days previous, she didn't feel quite so threatened in his presence.

"You've hardly touched your food."

Legolas' soft voice awoke Lynwen from her thoughts about him. She turned her head slightly to look at him beside her, seeing deep concern etched into his ice-blue eyes as he looked right back at her. She couldn't help but be a little taken aback by his change in personality, and found that she had only stared at him in reply to his comment.

"I can fetch you something else from the kitchen, if there is something else that you fancy, instead?" Legolas' compassionate voice prompted her again, his softened eyes now searching hers, and looking at her expectantly for her reply.

"Legolas, stop fussing!" Thranduil's deep, irritable voice, penetrated through their calm exchange, startling them both, slightly.

Daeron sniggered at his father's comment. "Yes Legolas. I'm sure Lynwen doesn't need you to spoon feed her, her meals." He said in a degrading tone to his younger brother, as he openly laughed at his expense.

Lynwen couldn't help but notice the physical impact that Thranduil and Daeron's verbal demeanour had inflicted upon Legolas. Their slighting words seemed to simulate a punch to his stomach, as he jolted slightly, back into his chair away from Lynwen, and hid back inside himself again. That usual mask of harshness and danger he always wore, now being worn again on his fair face.

She thought back to the dinner they all had on the night she had first arrived here, remembering how Legolas' comments and suggestions were just being ignored by his father and brother. And now coupled with these belittling remarks at the breakfast table, she wondered if Legolas was just seen as a pawn in their household, someone who's only importance was to run errands of low value, and to be mocked if he attempted to better himself up the social scale. It certainly came across to her as if this was the case. And she couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Legolas, now, as she saw him out of the corner of her eye, solemnly looking down at his plate in front of him.

She turned her head to the side again so she could look at the young prince. "Thank you." She said in a whisper.

Legolas turned his head to look at her after hearing her gratitude, seeing a genuine slight smile, upon her face. She truly was intriguing, he thought to himself. She resembled everything that he'd never seen before. Her dark brown, shoulder length hair, was chaotic, and her skin colour was a mixture of white, red and pink tones. But it was mesmerizing. She was nothing like all the elleths he'd come to know, and had assumed as 'normal'. She was indeed, a welcoming change to the mundane life he had been living here for the past five hundred years. A bit of excitement. A bit of a view into the world outside of Mirkwood. She was a window into what he could expect to come across if he ever got given the chance to explore Middle Earth. And what was even more wonderfully intriguing about her, was that her smile seemed to bring life to those big blue eyes of hers, publicly displaying her emotions for all to see, and causing him to get slightly lost in their deep depths. A trait, he assumed, that only humans possessed, because he couldn't ever recall becoming this transfixed by looking into the eyes of an elleth, before.

"You're welcome." He eventually whispered back, his face displaying that deadly mask that he seemed to don so often, before he quickly turned away from her again to look down at his plate.

But his stance seemed different suddenly, as he shifted a little in his seat. He made a conscious effort to focus on the food in front of him, as his ears turned a slight shade of pink, seemingly appearing very uncomfortable in Lynwen's presence, all of sudden.

xxx

Lynwen had been working with the seamstresses for the past three days. Her working day consisted of sewing and mending from the moment she had finished breakfast, up until dinner was ready to be served in the evening. It was a long day, and she usually couldn't wait to fall into bed afterwards.

The elleths, as she had expected, didn't really engage in conversation with her unless absolutely necessary. But that suited Lynwen, for she'd much rather be alone with her thoughts about Elrohir, than strike up any sort of a conversation with the Mirkwood elves. Why should she make the effort to make any friends here? It wasn't as if she was going to be staying here for much longer, for as soon as Elrohir would hear about what had happened, he'd be over here like a shot, to collect her. She only hoped that he hadn't been needed in the north for longer than expected, for she wasn't sure how much longer she could stick it out here waiting for him.

She just needed to be patient, she kept telling herself.

"It's Lynwen, isn't it?"

Lynwen looked up from the leather-bound armour that she was mending in her lap, to the tall ellon that was towering above her. His long hair was a chestnut-brown colour, and his face was smooth and flawless, which was typical of all the elves, but it also had a bit of ruggedness too, in the same way her father had. This told Lynwen that he was probably quite old. Older than her twin brothers, for sure. But she suspected, after studying him a bit more, that he probably wasn't quite as old as her father was.

As she continued to look at him, she noticed how he had the kindest brown eyes that Lynwen had seen in a long time. And they were looking down at her with such pleasantry and warmth, that Lynwen couldn't help but smile up at him.

"Yes, I'm Lynwen." She said with some energy in her voice.

The ellon bowed his head while placing his hand on his chest. "It's a pleasure to meet you, my lady. I'm Meldiron." He said while he lifted his head back up. "I've heard much about you over the last few days." He said with a warm smile upon his face.

"Yes, I'm sure you have." Lynwen said as she looked back down at her lap a little glum. "I imagine you don't get many humans here, in Mirkwood." She said quietly, almost with a hint of resentment in her voice.

Meldiron just chuckled slightly at her words, causing Lynwen to look back up at him. "No, we certainly do not." He said with his smile still spread across his face. "But what a special treat, it is!" He said enthusiastically.

Lynwen was finding his smile to be quite infectious, and couldn't help but smile with him. She'd only spoken to him for around a minute, but already she could tell that he was a genuinely lovely person, and felt instantly relaxed in his company.

"I'm a member of The Mirkwood Guard." He said a little proudly. "Been a member for as long as I can remember, and that's a very long time, trust me! But we're always kept busy. The borders of this realm are rife with danger!"

Lynwen nodded her head. "Yes, so I've been told. Although I haven't seen any of it myself." She said thoughtfully.

"And a good thing, too!" Meldiron said a little more seriously. "It's dangerous out there. You don't want to be venturing too far out, if you can help it."

Lynwen shrugged her shoulders. "I wouldn't know where 'too far out' is. On my few walks through the surrounding gardens, I haven't seen any clear borders that I shouldn't be crossing. But maybe I just don't know what to look for." She said.

Meldiron stood a little taller suddenly. "Then I will show you." He said firmly. "It's important to know where is safe for you to go. I'm not on patrol for the next few days, so if you like, I can show you around tomorrow after you finish here?"

Lynwen shrugged her shoulders again while smiling. "Sure. Why not!" She agreed.

"Great, then I'll come to collect you around 7pm?"

"Ok." Lynwen said with a wide smile. "I'll see you tomorrow." His smile, truly was infectious.

As Meldiron went to exit the mending rooms, he suddenly stopped walking and spun back around on his heel. "I nearly forgot!" He exclaimed. "The reason I came here was to drop off my armour for repairs." He said as he walked back over to Lynwen, shaking his head slightly at his forgetfulness. "Can I entrust you with them, my lady?" He asked as he held them out for her.

Lynwen just chuckled a little at him, finding herself really liking his personality. "Yes of course, my lord. I'll have them ready for you tomorrow."

"Please, call me Meldiron." He said smiling at her once more, before turning away and leaving the mending rooms.

Lynwen couldn't help but be a little startled by the brief exchange with Meldiron. Their conversation at been swift, and straight to the point, and probably hadn't lasted more than two minutes. But even so, Lynwen now found herself feeling a little lighter at heart at their arrangement tomorrow, really looking forward to their next conversation. After only a brief introduction, Meldiron had proved to be both friendly and accommodating, and Lynwen knew instantly, that she was going to thoroughly enjoy being in his company.

And although she didn't care to engage in conversation with the elves of Mirkwood, it was still nice to know, after her rapid encounter with Meldiron, that not all of them were completely hostile towards her. And hopefully, having someone to talk to in this realm, would make what little time she had left here, slightly more bearable.

She turned her gaze to look out of the window, watching the large orange sun start it's descent towards the sea of lush greens, that was the forest of Mirkwood, letting out a long deep sigh as her thoughts drifted to Elrohir, once more.

"Please don't take too long, my love. I desperately need you." She whispered out towards the horizon, hoping that somehow, Elrohir would be able to hear, or even sense, her anxious plea for him to come and rescue her from this dreadful nightmare that she had been so cruelly dumped in.

She just hoped, beyond hope, that she wouldn't have to wait much longer for that rescue.


	18. Distressing Realisations

**_Thank you to 'Guest' for your review! I'm really glad that you seem to be enjoying this story. :)_**

**_Just a heads-up to you all that this chapter contains some strong language. And thanks again to you all for reading!_**

Chapter 18 - Distressing Realisations

Meeting up with Meldiron after she had finished work, had become routine for Lynwen over the following month. He'd come to collect her from the mending rooms at the same time most evenings, where they then spent the following couple of hours in each other's company. Their meetings had become something that Lynwen would find herself looking forward to all day long.

As she had suspected during their first meeting, he was a much older elf. Five thousand, one hundred and fifty six years old, to be precise. He'd been born in Mirkwood, and had lived there his whole life. He had described to Lynwen in great detail about how the kingdom of Mirkwood had once been known as Greenwood the Great, and at how it had once been a vastly beautiful and powerful realm, a place that he had loved growing up in. But it saddened him to see how much of the forest that he'd loved so much, had been destroyed and possessed with evil, forcing his people to retreat into a small corner of the woodland. He'd told her how being a member of the Mirkwood Guard, helped him to seek some sort of justice for the home he'd been born into. With each member of evil that he extinguished during his patrols on the borders, was another piece he could add towards the missing parts of the jigsaw puzzle that had represented his disrupted life for the past couple of thousand years.

Lynwen had learnt that it wasn't only the invasion of evil upon his home that had caused his serene life to become disrupted and scattered. But it had also been the painful loss of his wife.

"She was a human, like you." He said to Lynwen, as they sat in the branches of a tree.

"Really?! But I thought that there had only ever been a couple of documented relationships between elves and humans throughout history?" Lynwen asked, surprised by his declaration.

"Well it's just as you said. There were only a couple of elf/human relationships documented. But that doesn't mean that there haven't been more." He said with an insightful tone. "It's probably more common than you think, Lynwen." He said, as he smiled at her shocked expression.

"Do you have any children?" Lynwen asked, suspecting she knew what his answer was going to be. In the month that she'd known Meldiron, she began to look up to him as a sort of father figure, because he just seemed to naturally exhume the feelings of parenthood. He comfortably seemed to fall into the role of being a father, with his wise words of advice, his protectiveness, but also his sometimes stern attitude.

"Yes, myself and my wife had a daughter." He said with an affectionate smile upon his face as he looked out over the tree tops before them.

"How old is she?" Lynwen asked, wondering why he hadn't introduced her to his daughter during this past month.

But Meldiron just turned his gaze back to Lynwen, the serene look he had had moments ago, was now replaced with a look of sorrow and despair.

"She's been dead for well over two thousand years." He said quietly, as he turned to look out into the woodland again. He was silent for a few moments, clearly thinking about his beloved daughter as he continued to stare out into nothingness.

Lynwen couldn't help but be shocked. Why had she assumed that his relationship with his wife and daughter, had been recent occurrences? He was over five thousand years old, after all, so it made perfect sense that this could have happened a long time ago. But it didn't stop her from being any less surprised by it.

And it seemed very apparent to Lynwen, that he probably hadn't spoken about his daughter for a very long time, as he seemed to be struggling to regain his composure. She felt really bad for bringing up the, obviously, painful subject, and wondered how she could fix it.

But before she could say anything else, Meldiron took a deep, slow breath, before he spoke again. "She fell in love with a human man." He said as he continued looking out into the forest. "And with her being half-elven, she had a very important choice to make." He took another deep breath now, before he slowly continued. "And, much to my dismay, she chose to sacrifice her immortality, and became a human."

Lynwen just continued to look at him, unsure of what to say, as he continued looking out into the trees. Seeing the obvious pain in his face, immediately gave her an insight in to what her father would end up feeling if Elrohir ended up dying with her. It was something that she tried not to think about, for it just made her feel incredibly guilty, and even a little selfish. But she remembered back to that one particular time, a few months previous, when she'd tried to break it all off with Elrohir because of her fears for his future. But he had refused to end the relationship, saying that the sacrifice of his immortality was his choice to make. And being the stubborn individual that he was, he had said that there was no more to say in the matter, and that he wouldn't hear any more of it. He had made his choice, and that was that!

But it still didn't stop Lynwen from feeling bad about it. Especially seeing the way Meldiron looked right now as he re-lived the loss of his daughter to the woes of mortality.

"You remind me so much of my daughter." He said suddenly, as he turned his head to look at her again. "I see the same adventurous and determined spirit, in you." He said with an affectionate smile upon his face. "And, I suspect, you also possess the same ability to successfully cross your father, in the same way she could always cross me!" He said with a chuckle.

Lynwen laughed at his comment, knowing that she couldn't deny that accusation. She had, indeed, tested her father's patience on many occasions.

But the reminder of those precious years spent with her father in Rivendell, suddenly shrouded her sudden good humour in misery.

"A father can be driven to desperate lengths where his children are concerned." Meldiron said suddenly, after seeing Lynwen's sudden change in mood. "So desperate, that it can force us to carry out such dire extremities, if we think that it will help to better protect our children." He said quietly, as he looked at Lynwen sat beside him. "Your father believed he was doing the best, Lynwen."

Lynwen turned to face the older ellon, her brow furrowed with anger. "The best for whom?" She asked curtly. "Certainly not for me, that's for sure! No, he's made his feelings for me pretty clear." She said more quietly now, as she turned her gaze away from Meldiron. Just thinking about Elrond, brought about some very unpleasant feelings. Feelings of loathing and hatred. She would never be able to look at him in the same way again.

"Did... um... your wife and daughter live to an old age?" Lynwen asked a little hesitantly, wanting to get the topic of the conversation back on to Meldiron.

Meldiron sighed heavily as he looked down to the ground. "Yes, my daughter lived until the grand old age of eighty seven!" He said with a slight chuckle, but his eyes were still laden with sadness. "And, I was told that my wife had lived to be seventy five years old, before old age eventually claimed her."

Lynwen looked upon him with sympathy, but also with a little confusion. "You were _told _that your wife lived to be seventy five? Were you not with her?"

Meldiron shook the head that he continued to keep tilted to the ground. "She didn't want me to see her age." He said in a quiet voice. "I told her that I'd love her no matter what. But after she had turned forty years of age, she had said that she felt, and looked, more like my mother than my wife, and that she couldn't continue to hang around until she ended up looking like my grandmother." He took another deep breath, looking as if he was trying to hold back tears. "I never stopped seeing our daughter of course. But I never did see my wife again."

Lynwen felt an overwhelming sense of empathy as she looked at him. It was clear that he had never gotten over the heartbreak of his wife leaving him, and then he had had to endure the loss of his daughter on top of that!

And looking at this elf grieve over his human wife, gave her an insight into what Elrohir may have to experience when she, herself, will end up dying. And seeing Meldiron grieve over the loss of his daughter, also gave her an insight into what Elrond will go through, if Elrohir was to die with her.

Looking at Meldiron now, was a potential eerie glimpse into her own future, that sent shudders down her spine.

xxx

"Good evening, Lynwen." The quiet voice from behind her, caused her to jump from fright. But she felt a little relieved after turning around to discover that it was Legolas. He was looking at her with a grin upon his face, as they both stood outside the doors to the dining room. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you." He said. But his mischievous smile seemed to say otherwise.

Lynwen just looked at him in a way that she knew he was lying. "Yes, I'm sure that wasn't your intention, Legolas." She replied sarcastically, as she arched a teasing eyebrow at him.

Legolas laughed, heartedly. A wonderful sound that Lynwen was still trying to get used to.

Legolas had changed so much from the cautious ellon that she had first met out in the depths of the forest of Mirkwood. And for the past month, the changes that she'd witnessed in the young prince, were astronomical! He'd gone from staring at her like a psychopath waiting to kill at any moment, to a kind-hearted, friendly, and somewhat shy, gentleman, who couldn't resist a little bit of playful banter on occasion. But although his demeanour towards her had softened, somewhat, Lynwen still couldn't help but be a little cautious of him. It was clear for all to see behind those piercing blue eyes of his, that he wouldn't hesitate for a second to kill, and Lynwen still felt a little anxious that she could possibly be his next target.

She remembered back to how she had been so shocked by the kind way he had been acknowledging her throughout the breakfast-meal, the morning that her father had abandoned her. And surprised by the way he had been showing his concern for her at her lack of eating. It had been a far cry from the murderous glares and the hostile hospitality that she'd come to expect from him.

And after that particular exchange between them during that meal, it seemed as though he had suddenly started to feel slightly awkward, and even a bit embarrassed, in her presence. For the remainder of that morning, he had avoided any more conversation and eye-contact with her. And it had been highly confusing for Lynwen, as she had tried to understand this sudden change in his actions towards her. She'd wondered if she'd insulted him somehow, as she couldn't think of any other reason as to why his concentrated, and harsh stares towards her, had completely stopped. Not that she had particularly missed his deadly looks that always made her feel uneasy. But she couldn't understand why he'd suddenly changed to avoiding any interaction and eye-contact with her, at all.

But over the last couple of weeks, verbal interactions had resumed between the two of them, again. His hardened expressions always softened immediately as soon as he saw her approaching, and their conversations, although usually short and kept only for mealtimes, were always pleasant and friendly. And as the weeks passed, he seemed to grow slightly more bold and confident with his interactions with her.

Like this particular moment, for example. This wasn't the first time that he'd sneaked up on her, and he always found it highly amusing every time he managed to succeed in frightening her. Although she still felt a little wary of him, he had become someone that she didn't mind too much, being in the company of, and found his lame perceptions as to what he thought of as a funny practical joke, rather endearing!

"I'm sorry Lynwen, but I've just never before met anyone whom I've been able to sneak up on, so successfully. It's quite a novelty having you here, I must say!" Legolas said, while still laughing heartedly.

Lynwen couldn't help but laugh too. It was hard not to when you heard Legolas' laugh, and saw his radiant smile spread across his fair face.

"You'd think that after being raised by elves, I'd be used to having you lot sneaking up on me, by now." She replied, noticing that he looked somewhat, teasing, tonight. Even a little mischievous, she thought. And she wondered if this was the real Legolas? The one that had been absent during her first days here. Or was this gentle and friendly person standing before her, a stranger that had suddenly developed within the young prince, due to the sudden and unexpected novelty of a human coming to live in his realm?

She suspected the former of the two, as she couldn't imagine her brothers being well acquainted with anyone who wasn't like them; pleasant, well-mannered, and courteous. But it was still so strange to believe that that terrifying ellon she'd met a month ago, was actually a facade for the seemingly kind-hearted being who had been secretly hiding underneath.

"Aye, you'd think so!" He said through his laughter. "But I'm glad you're not. There would be no fun in that!" He said with a teasing smile upon his face. He then leant forward and reached behind her to open the dining room door, a gentle smile still upon his face as he looked at her. "After you, My Lady." He said in a much more quiet tone, his blue eyes locked on hers as he gestured his arm to inside the dining room.

Lynwen smiled softly at his gentlemanly manner, seeing that his eyes were still laughing from his, very simple, idea of a joke. He really had been living a sheltered life all these years if he found something as trivia as sneaking up on a human, hilarious.

But his polite ignorance and simple-mindedness towards the outside world, was somewhat, charming, she thought, as she entered through the doorway, with Legolas right behind her.

xxx

A few days later, Lynwen was making her way down the dark walkways within the Halls after finishing work in the mending rooms. She was heading back to her chambers to rest before dinner, as Meldiron was currently out on patrol, and would be for the next few days.

She turned around the corner and through the familiar archway that led onto the dimly lit corridor that housed her chambers.

As she wrestled with the rusty doorknob on her bedroom door, she suddenly sensed a presence behind her. She spun around reflexively to see who was present with her in this lonely part of the realm, to see Daeron slowly emerging from the darkness that surrounded them. Her heart started to pound in her chest as he came to a stop directly in front of her, his lean, lithe form, towering over her as their bodies were almost touching.

Instinctively, Lynwen stepped back from him, but found the wall directly behind her. She was now trapped between the cold stone of the cave walls, and the black-haired prince whom, she noticed, had now placed the palm of his hands on the wall either side of her head, firmly blocking her escape.

"How are you this evening, Lynwen?" He asked her huskily, his deep blue eyes provocatively staring into hers.

Lynwen hoped her erratic breathing wasn't noticeable, as she desperately tried to stifle her fear. "I'm fine thank you, Daeron, but very tired. I was just about to retire to my room to rest a little before dinner." She said, hoping she could deter this conversation from continuing.

But Daeron only smirked at her as he kept his hands firmly planted either side of Lynwen's head. He leant his head down so that his face was just inches from hers, and held her gaze for a few moments before he spoke again.

"I find it strange that you have not received word from Elrohir, yet." He said with a slight frown upon his face.

"He's assisting in the north." Lynwen replied, almost defensively, finding herself getting a little angry at Daeron's judging, of her lover.

"Then you have not heard?" Daeron asked with a, seemingly forced, confused expression.

"Heard... what?"

"Well, I was informed by two of our soldiers, who have not long since returned from an errand up north, that Elrohir and Elladan left to return home to Imladris a month ago." He said quietly. "Which means that Elrohir would have learnt of your fate, long before now. Do you not find it strange that he has not yet come for you?" Daeron asked, enjoying the shocked expression that had formed on Lynwen's face, as his words seemed to strike a horrible truth within her.

Daeron wasn't lying. It had indeed been confirmed that the sons of Elrond left for Rivendell around a month ago. It wouldn't have taken the twins long to make the journey back to their homeland, and they probably would have arrived home around the same time as their father.

The journey Elrond and the Rivendell guards had had to make back to Rivendell, would have taken them half the amount of time without Lynwen with them, for they wouldn't have had to have stopped for nowhere near as many rest periods.

So Daeron had calculated that Elrohir would have learnt about Lynwen's abandonment in Mirkwood, around three weeks ago. And it seemed, judging by the horrified expression on Lynwen's face right now, that she had just made the same calculation as him.

Hopefully his plan to come between Lynwen and that pompous, arrogant bastard, was beginning to work. By the Valar, Daeron hated that younger twin with all of his heart. Always had! Daeron hated the way Elrohir walked around like he was Eru's gift to women, and hated the way, on the twins' few visits to Mirkwood, Elrohir would spend most of his visits here serenading the elleths, and disappearing with them into his allocated chambers for hours on end! To Daeron, that was the biggest insult, ever! Mirkwood was his territory, and Elrohir was trespassing on it every time he strode in and bedded numerous amounts of the Mirkwood elleths.

Well, now it was payback time. Daeron would now return the favour, and steal away one of that, stuck-up prick's women. And it would be a woman that Elrohir would certainly not appreciate having taken away from him.

Let's see how that dickhead likes having his terrain invaded by another ellon, Daeron smugly thought to himself.

"But... but it can take weeks to travel here from Imladris." Lynwen said to no one in particular, as she stared into nothingness. It was obvious by the tone of her voice that she was desperately trying to convince herself of that 'fact'.

"But did it not take but just two weeks for you to travel here?" Daeron asked with a confused frown upon his face.

Lynwen looked back up to meet Daeron's gaze at hearing his words, her eyes showing a mixture of panicked and horrified expressions. She looked at him for a few moments as she tried to sift through all the conflicting thoughts in her mind.

"Yes, it took us two weeks to travel here..."

"And that was with you stopping for rest periods every night, was it not?" Daeron interrupted her.

"Yes... but... but I imagine that Elrohir would need to stop to rest, also..."

Daeron burst out laughing at Lynwen's last words. "My dear Lynwen, although he is somewhat lazier than your average ellon, Elrohir would not need to stop for as long as you did. And he is one of the most skilled, and fastest riders on this earth, and if he feels for you as strongly as you seem to believe he does, then he would have arrived here long before now."

Lynwen felt as if her world was coming crashing down around her. As much as she disliked Daeron, she knew he spoke the truth. By her quick calculations, Elrohir should have been here at least two weeks ago. That would have allowed him a week to ride here after arriving back in Imladris around three weeks ago. Daeron was right, Elrohir was one of the most skilled riders, and didn't need to sleep as much as she did, and so she reckoned it would only have taken him a week to get here.

So why wasn't he here? Maybe he still hadn't learnt of what had happened to her? But that couldn't be the case, because surely he would have noticed her absence from Imladris, and would want to know where she was. Wouldn't he?

"Lynwen, are you alright? You're looking rather pale all of a sudden." Daeron broke her from her troubling thoughts, and she re-focused to see that he was still leering over her, but his expression was now changed to one of concern.

"Yes I'm fine thank you, Daeron. I'm just a little tired, is all." Lynwen replied quickly. "If you'll excuse me, please, but I really would like to rest before dinner." She said, almost pleadingly, as she stared at Daeron before her.

He continued to hold her gaze for a few seconds, before he slowly pushed himself off the wall from either side of Lynwen's head, coming to stand in an upright position in front of her.

Lynwen was still breathing erratically, he noticed, as she seemed to have frozen in her position against the wall. But he suspected that her unsteady breathing was now due to the realisation that her Rivendell lover had not yet come for her. She seemed to take a few seconds to compose herself, before she stood upright and curtsied slightly and quickly, before turning and hurrying into her room, firmly closing the door behind her.

Daeron smirked at what he had just managed to accomplish. But he just hoped that Elrohir hadn't been momentarily delayed somewhere, meaning that he could still arrive here at any day to claim back his human lover. Daeron realised that he needed to act fast if this was the case. He knew that Lynwen was probably feeling vulnerable and upset after what he had just told her, which would be a perfect time for him to strike. She would be desperate for some comfort and reassurance, and Daeron would be the one to give it to her.

"Finally, I will get to know how it feels to fuck a human, and trample all over that Rivendell wanker's territory, both at the same time!" Daeron said to himself cheerily, before he turned from her bedroom door, and walked away with a spring in his step.

xxx

The sun had long since set, but Lynwen still hadn't moved from her chair she had placed on her balcony, hours before. She had come straight out here after Daeron had informed her of her brothers' return to Rivendell, hoping that the brisk evening air would help her to come to a plausible conclusion as to why Elrohir was not here.

The heat wave was now gone, as autumn had arrived to take over in it's stead. The days were much cooler, and the sunlight hours much shorter. By early evening, the blue sky had already given way to it's black counterpart, filling itself with the many thousands of stars that glistened and sparkled like the rain drops on the black lunar flowers, that adorned the lands surrounding this realm.

She hadn't realised how long she had been sat out here, when she heard knocking on her bedroom door. She really wasn't in the mood to see anyone right now, and hoped that if she ignored it, whoever it was would go away.

So she was surprised when Legolas suddenly appeared on the balcony next to her, holding a tray.

"What are you doing here?" Lynwen asked him rather abruptly.

Legolas just knelt down next to her chair and placed the tray on the floor in front of her feet. She looked down to see that the tray contained a selection of vegetables and cheeses, along with a piece of bread, all accompanied by a chalice of red wine. She turned her head to look at Legolas kneeling beside her, seeing that he was just looking at her with his newfound softened expression.

"I missed dinner, didn't I?" Lynwen spoke in a quiet voice, as she looked at the younger prince beside her.

Legolas just nodded his head subtly, as he brought up his hand to rest upon Lynwen's forearm. Lynwen couldn't help but stiffen slightly at this contact, which Legolas obviously noticed because he quickly withdrew his hand, and dropped it back by his side.

"Daeron told me about the conversation you had with him earlier." Legolas said softly, his ice-blue eyes capturing hers in his hold. "I'm sure that Elrohir has just been held up temporarily, and that he will at least send word to you soon." He said quietly, hoping that his words would bring some comfort to her.

He didn't quite understand these feelings that he experienced whenever he was in Lynwen's company, or even when he even just thought about her, but he had always had a desire to ensure that she was well-taken care of. Hence, the food tray he brought to her room tonight. He didn't want her to go hungry, or to be upset for that matter. But she was pining after his good friend from Rivendell, and had been since the day she first arrived here, and it seemed that there would be nothing that _he _could do to make her feel better. Only Elrohir possessed that ability, and he wasn't here. Even a letter from him would suffice at this moment in time. But he hadn't sent any of those to Lynwen, as yet.

Lost in his thoughts, Legolas unknowingly reached out his hand again, but this time, it went for her cheek, as he carefully pushed back a piece of Lynwen's hair that had been messily hanging in her face, before placing it behind her ear. His gaze had been fixed upon the dark brown, somewhat frizzy, strand as he carried out this action, surprised at just how soft her hair was to the touch. It certainly didn't look like it would feel so silk-like, what with the way it messily waved around the place.

But as he slowly brought his eyes back to look at hers, he could see that she looked a little scared, as her eyes stared at his with wariness. Again, he quickly brought his hand away from her, and placed it back at his side.

He hated that she still seemed to be nervous of him, but knew he only had himself to blame. He was well aware of how he acted during her first days here, and how he must have come across to someone who didn't know him. But he couldn't help it. It was in his nature to be cautious of anyone new, having been brought up to be always on his guard. But with Lynwen, it wasn't just the need to be cautious. It was something more. Something that went a lot deeper, that he didn't know how to deal with. But all he knew was that he had been unable to take his eyes away from her in the beginning, as she was just the most fascinating creature that he'd ever laid eyes upon. But it appeared that his curiosity had only brought out feelings of fear within her, that she obviously still harboured for him. And this was something that he deeply regretted, but hoped that it was something that he would manage to rectify in time.

Sensing her unease, he stood up from his kneeling position and backed away a few steps. "I'll leave you to your meal." He said in his usual smooth voice, as he bowed his head at her, before turning to exit the balcony back into her room.

"Legolas?"

He stopped in the doorway to her room after hearing her call, and slowly turned his head to look at her, but remained silent.

"Thank you." Lynwen said with real sincerity in her voice as she looked upon him. "I really appreciate it." She said as she smiled at him from her seat.

Legolas continued to look at her, his face donning that placid, serious mask that made it impossible to know what he was thinking or feeling. But after a few moments, his face unexpectedly broke out into the most heart-warming smile, causing his piercing eyes to light up with genuineness and sincerity, and slight dimples to appear on his cheeks.

"You're welcome." He replied, before turning from her once again, and exiting through her bedroom.

Seeing him smile like that, and even hearing him laugh, as she had done on a couple of occasions now, made Lynwen realise that there was a kind-hearted person hidden in that icy persona, and it was something that he seemed to be exposing a lot lately. But Lynwen couldn't help but still feel a little uneasy in his company. She'll never forget the way in which he would stare at her when she first arrived in this kingdom, making her feel as if she was a foe that needed to be extinguished. And it had terrified her to her very core.

But he really had changed in the way he acted with her now, and she hoped that she was now witnessing the real Legolas. But it would probably still take some time before she would feel completely comfortable with him. To her, he was still a mystery, and even a little unpredictable. For all his kindness to her over the past couple of weeks, she was still expecting him to suddenly turn into that murderous ellon she first met out in the forest a month ago. And Eru forbid, she should be alone with him when that dark personality surfaced again! Who knew what he was capable of? Well Lynwen didn't want to find out. No, all Lynwen wanted now, was word from Elrohir. After sitting here all evening, she still couldn't think of a plausible reason as to why he hadn't come for her.

But then, as she was taking a sip of her wine, a horrifying thought came to her. She knew Elrohir so well, and knew that as soon as he found out about what had happened, he would have taken off for Mirkwood without a second thought. He would have left at lightening speed without getting prepared, or even arranging for a travelling companion. She didn't doubt her lover's fighting skills. Although she had never seen him in action, she had been told of both of her brothers' abilities when it came to fighting, and knew that the twins were amongst some of the most feared warriors throughout Middle Earth.

But despite this, if Elrohir was alone on his journey here, even his flawless fighting skills couldn't possibly be enough against a large pack of orcs, or against this mystery enemy in the forest of Mirkwood that she remembered her father saying would 'attack from above'! She never did find out what foe her father had been referring to when he said that, but she wondered if Elrohir had encountered them on his way here. He would be outnumbered, and could be lying out there somewhere now, injured, defenceless, or even dead!

Lynwen jumped up from her chair, accidentally kicking the food tray, and knocking the chalice of wine over in the process, causing it to spill on the floor of the balcony. But there wasn't time to worry about the mess she'd just created now. She had to do something about Elrohir. She had to know that he was safe. She had to find him!

She ran into her bedroom, quickly changing into her riding pants and boots, and flung her cloak over shoulders. She reached for the small dagger that Meldiron had given to her a couple of weeks previous, as he believed that everyone needed to be able to protect themselves in this dangerous woodland. She attached it to her hip, realising that she'd never once, wielded a weapon in her life! She just hoped that she would know what to do with this dagger if the worst should happen, and she should come face to face with an enemy.

But none of that mattered now. All that mattered at this moment in time, was finding Elrohir. So Lynwen quietly left her chambers, and secretly made her way out of the Halls, telling the guards on the main gate that she was going to have a stroll throughout the safe gardens that surrounded the residences.

Once she was out in the gardens, and away from prying eyes, she sprinted for the tree line in the distance, hoping that she wouldn't get caught by one of the guards on patrol tonight.

As she reached the dense thicket of trees, she stopped to catch her breath, and braced herself for the next leg of her journey. Right now, she was still within the safe area of the forest, completely free of evil and danger. But up ahead, she would be crossing over the invisible boundary that would take her deep into the dark, suffocating, and cursed forest, that was apparently riddled with peril, and possible death. There was only a half moon tonight, which did little to cast any sort of light for her to see comfortably, but she knew that once she crossed the border into danger, the menacing part of the forest that awaited her, would be stripped of any light, making it nearly impossible to navigate.

But Elrohir may need help, and he could be in grave danger, she assured herself. She had no one here whom she could ask for assistance, only Meldiron, but he was on guard duty this week. So, there was nothing for it. She had to venture out there alone.

She took another deep breath to try to steady her nerves, before she started walking towards the boundary in the distance, knowing that every step she took was taking her further away from safety, and bringing her ever closer to terrifying danger.


	19. Rescue and Vengeance

_Just want to thank the two Guest reviewers for their encouraging words, as I can't PM them. I'm glad you're enjoying the story._

_Also just want to give a public thank you to DeLacus for, yet another, lovely review! I hope you continue to enjoy the story, and keep up your amazing work :)_

**A/N: This is just in response to DeLacus' review, to let all you Elrohir fans know that he will continue to be an important character throughout this story, and that we definately haven't seen the last of him yet! ;) Nor have we seen the last of Rivendell, either.**

**_Ok, this is a warning to everyone that this chapter contains strong violence, strong language, and rape._**

**_And please review and let me know what you think! :)_**

Chapter 19 - Rescue and Vengeance

Legolas made his way up the dark corridor where Lynwen's chambers were housed. She hadn't shown up to breakfast this morning, and so, as he had last night, he made the decision to bring her meal to her.

He'd been a bit taken aback when he'd seen her last night on her balcony. She had looked so distant and completely withdrawn from reality, as she stared out into the darkness of the forest in front of her. She appeared so far away, that he felt he wouldn't have been able to reach out to touch her, even though she was positioned directly in front of him. He just hoped that she was in a better state this morning.

As he arrived outside her bedroom door, he balanced the tray in one hand and reached out to knock the door with the other. But before his fist could make contact with the wood, he hesitated, wondering if this was such a good idea. After all, she seemed to be quite nervous of him last night when he had joined her on the balcony, and him entering her room again this morning, would probably only fuel her unease of him.

He sighed to himself, wishing that he could make her see that she had no reason to fear him. Despite what she probably thought of him, he didn't see her as a threat. Never had! And he would never do anything to harm her. All he'd ever been guilty of was being interested in her human nature. And even after a month of her being here, her race was still something that he found fascinating, and he wanted nothing more than to get to know her better, to fully take in the things that made her so different from his own kind. Like her pinkish skin tone, the faint brown freckles that adorned the bridge of her nose, and her unruly hair, but to name a few. In all of his five hundred and twenty five years of his life, he had never come across someone as intriguing as Lynwen.

And he even felt a sort of, connection, with her. Looking at how different she was compared to the elves, and the way that she seemed to always be excluded, meant that she was probably a very lonely character. A character that would never be looked upon as an equal, and who was probably always put down by others. And this was a character trait that Legolas could whole heartedly relate to. He knew that he would never be able to exceed Daeron's status in this realm, and knew that he would always be classed as second best. His desire to venture out and explore the rest of Middle Earth, was probably due to the fact that he never really did feel like he fully belonged in Mirkwood. He felt that he had no purpose here. And he didn't really posses any longing to stay. And in that respect, he and Lynwen were so alike. Two outsiders, two rejects, both longing for escape, and some sort of belonging.

But, he knew he'd have to continue to try to gain Lynwen's trust, if he ever hoped that any sort of a friendship could end up forming between them. He knew that he just needed to continue being himself around her, for the ellon that had been caring and considerate towards her over the past few weeks, was the real Legolas, and he wanted her to realise this. The ellon that she met in the beginning was just his cautious and wary facade that had become second nature for him to wear through his young life, what with the constant evil that threatened his homeland on a daily basis.

He hesitated now, outside her bedroom door, wondering what would be the best thing to do. After bringing his hand up to knock on the door before withdrawing it again a number of times, he made the decision to set the tray down on the floor outside her bedroom, and allow her to find it in her own time.

But as he was walking away back down the dark corridor, he suddenly stopped as he realised that he needed to know that she as ok. After not showing up to breakfast, and to her workplace in the mending rooms, he had an overwhelming desire to check on her well-being. So he walked back to her chambers, and without giving himself a chance to hesitate, he firmly knocked on her door, and in doing so, caused the door to swing open slightly as it hadn't been closed tight. This immediately struck Legolas as odd, and he quickly peered in through the opening in the door, calling Lynwen's name.

But after a few moments of not getting a response, he brought up his hand and pushed open the bedroom door fully, remaining stood in the doorway as he looked inside. What he saw was a bed that clearly hadn't been slept in, with the clothes that she had been wearing the night before, messily thrown on the covers and on the floor.

"Lynwen?" Legolas called again, wanting to make sure that he wasn't going to impose on her while she was making herself decent, before he slowly entered further into the room.

After standing in the middle of her chambers for a few moments, still giving her a chance to answer his calls, he started to make his way towards the doorway to the balcony, noticing that it was open wide. Judging by the temperature in the room, he concluded that the balcony doorway must have been open all night, which concerned him greatly. His steps now quickened across her bedroom floor until he stepped outside, seeing that the chair she had been sat in the night before was still there, but that Lynwen was no where to be seen. His attention was then brought to the tray he had brought her last night, seeing that the contents had been kicked across the ground, the food strewn all over the place. And his heart plummeted when he saw the deep red stain on the ground, hoping that it was just the wine, and not her blood. Had she been attacked? It certainly looked like there had been a struggle here. And now she was nowhere in sight.

Without wasting another second speculating, Legolas turned around and ran back into the bedroom, and ran out the door, and didn't stop until he reached the main entrance to the Halls of Mirkwood. As he arrived, he witnessed the change-over of the guard, with the arrival of the new guards coming to relieve the soldiers of their night-shift.

"Did either of you see the Lady Lynwen during your watch last night?" Legolas asked the two guards as they were leaving their post.

The two guards were a bit taken aback by the sudden arrival of the young prince, and of his agitated state. It took them a second before one of them answered the eager prince. "Yes, your highness. We were actually just coming to inform someone that Lady Lynwen left here late last night to take a walk in the gardens, but as yet, she still has not returned."

Legolas didn't waste any more time, and turned away from the two guards, sprinting back into the depths of the Halls, and headed for his chambers. As he reached his room, he burst in there and quickly retrieved his bow and knives, before heading back out and in the direction of the soldiers' barracks.

As he reached the door that he was after, he started hammering on the wood, desperately hoping that it would be answered.

"This had better be good!" A rather groggy voice shouted from inside, before the door was opened slightly, the brown-haired ellon inside, peering out through the crack to see who had disturbed him so noisily.

But before the brown-haired ellon had a chance to acknowledge, or even speak again, Legolas forced the door open fully, knocking the ellon backwards.

"Ai Legolas, what the hell?!" The brown-haired ellon said, as he rubbed his head where the door had painfully made contact with his forehead.

"Horthien, get dressed! I need your help." Legolas ordered as he strode into Horthien's room.

"Um, Legolas, this actually isn't a very good time, right now." Horthien said quietly, still rubbing his head, but his eyes seemed wide with what appeared to be panic, as he looked past Legolas towards his bed.

Legolas followed his best friend's gaze, and gasped with surprise, and embarrassment, as his eyes fell upon the naked elleth in Horthien's bed. Luckily she had managed to cover her modesty with a pillow, but it still didn't prevent Legolas from turning beetroot-red from embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, My Lady." Legolas said quickly, as he brought his gaze quickly back to Horthien, now wishing that he hadn't had been so hasty to burst in here.

"I'm sorry Horthien, I appreciate that this is a bad time, but I need you to come with me. I desperately need your tracking skills." Legolas almost begged.

Horthien just sighed, but before he was able to speak again, Legolas interrupted him.

"Please Horthien. I wouldn't ask unless it was urgent."

Horthien sighed heavily at this, knowing that he couldn't refuse his best friend's help, and at the fact that he was going to have to cancel his plans to continue on the sex marathon with the stunning elleth in his bed.

"Ok. But you owe me big time!" Horthien said as he pointed his finger at the younger prince.

Legolas smiled widely. "Hannon le, Horthien. I'll wait for you outside." He said, as he strode out of the room without a backward glance at the elleth in the bed, praying that he would return to his normal colour soon!

After around a minute, the bedroom door opened, and out walked Horthien, fully dressed and equipped with his weapons.

"So what's this all about?"

"I'll explain on the way." Legolas replied, as he started off towards the main entrance to the Halls.

xxx

A few hours later, the two were trekking through the depths of Mirkwood forest, following a very obvious trail.

"How can you be sure that these footprints belong to Lynwen?" Legolas asked as he followed behind Horthien.

Horthien, now crouched down on the ground and studying some tracks, gestured his hand to the footprints. "Because they're too embedded to belong to an elf, but not embedded enough to belong to the heavy footedness of an orc. No, these are definitely human tracks." Horthien assured his friend. "And judging by the small size of these footprints, and by the short strides of the walking pattern, I'm certain that they belong to a woman." He said, before he leant forward to study the tracks a bit more intently. "And a woman who seems in a bit of a hurry." Horthien added to his analysis.

"Was she being chased?" Legolas asked with concern in his voice.

Horthien continued to study the tracks for a few moments, before he started to shake his head. "No, I haven't seen any evidence of anyone else being present. It seems that she is completely alone."

This didn't alleviate Legolas' worries, for someone as inexperienced in self-defence as Lynwen was, should not be out here on their own. This forest was riddled with danger, and he just hoped that they would catch up to her in time, before something happened to her.

"Do you think that we're gaining on her?" Legolas asked.

Horthien nodded his head as he looked in to the distance thoughtfully. "Yes, her tracks are getting fresher with every hour that passes. She seems to be slowing."

"Hardly surprising since she's been out here all through the night. She must be exhausted." Legolas said as he furrowed his brow in concern.

"And she has been running the whole time!" Horthien added. "Wherever it is that she's heading, she seems to be in a hurry to get there."

Legolas just nodded, remembering back to how she had been last night on her balcony, clearly upset after hearing Daeron's confirmation that her twin brothers had returned to Rivendell weeks earlier, and Elrohir had still not yet come for her. Was that where she was heading? He thought to himself. Was she trying to get back to Rivendell?

"We should keep going." Legolas said. "We need to catch up to her before she runs into danger... if she hasn't, already..."

Another hour passed for the pair as they continued to hurriedly catch up to Lynwen. The two elves had the distinct advantage over her, as they knew these lands inside out and back to front, and so running through the wilderness of the cursed forest was simple. And it was very obvious from the tracks that they were following, that Lynwen was completely lost.

"She's gone in circles quite a few times." Horthien said as he gestured his arm around them. "She appears to be a little disorientated."

Legolas furrowed his brow as he continued to jog after his friend. "She must be so frightened." He said with concern. "Are we any closer to finding her, Horthien?"

"Yes, we're definitely closing in on her, mellon (friend). It won't be much longer, I'm sure of it."

Another half an hour passed by, and with each passing minute, they were gaining on Lynwen more and more. She was lost and confused, and she didn't possess the stamina of the two elves who were pursuing her, and so Horthien predicted that they'd catch up to her within the next half an hour, or so.

"She's the daughter of that pompous bastard. You know the one, the officer in The Guard who just loves making my life a living hell." Horthien had been talking to Legolas about the elleth who had been in his bed that morning.

"You're treading on dangerous ground there, my friend." Legolas said, as he chuckled slightly at his friend.

"Aaah, but Legolas, she is worth the risk." Horthien said as his eyes looked upwards, clearly thinking back to the night before. "I never knew it was possible for anyone to bend like that! And by the Valar! No one has ever deep-throated me like her, before! Her mouth swallowed me to the hilt!"

"Ok, Horthien, enough details, thank you!" Legolas interrupted his friend before he could continue on any further. Horthien never seemed to be without an elleth to warm his bed, and unfortunately for Legolas, being his best friend meant that he had to endure all the sordid little details of his friend's sexual encounters, the morning afterwards.

Horthien brought up his hand and slapped Legolas on the back in a friendly manner, a big smile spread across his handsome face. "Legolas, mellon, you need to get laid." He said as a matter of fact. "I can arrange for the most beautiful elleth to come to your chambers, and show you things that you never dreamed possible!" Horthien said, still smiling widely.

Legolas just smirked a little at his friend's suggestion. "I appreciate the offer, Horthien, but I think I'll pass."

"Still holding out for the right one, are you?" Horthien asked, as he shook his head, bringing his hand down from Legolas' back. "You don't know what you're missing, my friend!"

Legolas didn't respond, but just looked back out into the dense forest in front of them, his gaze focused on the task at hand; finding Lynwen.

Horthien slowly followed Legolas' gaze into the woodland surrounding them, before turning back to study his friend intently for a few moments. "Or, maybe you already have found the right one?" Horthien said as he continued to look upon his friend.

It took Legolas a second to register Horthien's words, before he turned his head to look at his best friend standing beside him. "What are you talking about?" Legolas asked a little abruptly.

But Horthien only smirked in response. He had thought it strange as to why Legolas had been so intent on finding this human woman, today. His actions to ensure the safety of this girl hadn't been that of someone just doing his duty of a Mirkwood guard. No, his actions had been personal, Horthien realised. The worry and panic that had been etched into Legolas' expression all morning, showed Horthien that this, Lynwen, possibly meant more to Legolas than he was letting on. Or more than the young prince even realised, himself.

"What are you smirking at?" Legolas asked irritably, his brow furrowed in frustration at his friend.

But Horthien still didn't answer, and only continued looking at Legolas with his teasing smile.

"You're ridiculous, Horthien!" Legolas scolded while shaking his head, as he realised what it was that his friend was getting at. "Do you not know that she is involved with Elrohir?" Legolas asked his friend in disbelief, shocked that Horthien would even think that Legolas would consider crossing _that _line.

"Aye, I did hear something." Horthien said as he slapped his hand on Legolas' back, again. "So maybe it's not a good idea to pursue this one, mellon. Not unless you want a good ass-kicking from that Rivendell twin!" Horthien said with a wide, teasing grin upon his face. "Although, I reckon _I _could take him in a fight!" Horthien said, as he puffed out his chest and stood up a little taller, his grin now replaced with a serious expression.

Legolas didn't respond verbally, and only burst out laughing at this, which incited a furrowed brow, and a look of hurt from Horthien.

"What?! I could!" Horthien protested, as Legolas continued to laugh heartedly at his friend's expense.

Horthien just shook his head, turning from Legolas, and started to walk away.

"Aw, Horthien, I'm sorry." Legolas shouted up ahead. "I'm sure you could, very easily, best Elrohir in a fight." He called out in-between his hysterical laughing, as he desperately tried to catch his breath.

But Legolas was silenced by Horthien suddenly holding up his hand, as he ran ahead and crouched down, studying the ground beneath him. "Legolas! I don't think Lynwen is alone anymore!"

Legolas' humorous mood changed immediately, as he sprinted to Horthien, coming to a stop beside him. "What is it?" He asked anxiously.

Horthien gently brushed the ground with his fingertips, as he studied the soil. "These are orc tracks" He said in a serious tone. "And it looks like it's a group of around six, all following Lynwen's trail." Horthien said, as he turned his head to look up at Legolas.

Legolas looked out into the dense thicket of trees, his brow furrowed in concern, and his chest heaving from his panicked breaths. "We must move quickly, Horthien! Lead the way, please!" He said, as his ice-blue eyes turned on his friend, displaying his urgency.

At that, the two elves started at a run, delving even deeper into the dark and dangerous forest, hoping that they would find Lynwen before the orcs did.

xxx

Lynwen knew that she was completely and utterly lost, but tried hard to remain calm. She'd been at a run for hours, hoping to have reached the path that she had entered the realm on a month ago. She had predicted when she had entered the forest during the night, that if she kept heading to the left, she would have come out on the elven path after no longer than half an hour, or so. But here she was, after goodness knows how many hours, seemingly getting deeper and deeper into this terrifying forest, with still, no path in sight.

After feeling like her lungs were about to burst, and her legs on the verge of buckling from underneath her, she stopped to try to catch her breath, the palm of her hand resting against the trunk of a tree, as she doubled over, panting ferociously.

Due to the pitch darkness, and her urgency to travel as quickly as possible, she had fallen over continuously throughout the night, but hadn't had a chance to asses her injuries until now. The sun had been up for a few hours now, allowing a little light in to the murky woodland, but it was just enough for her to see that her riding pants were torn at the knees, and the material stained red from where her skin had been cut numerous amounts of times from her falls. She brought up her hands in front of her face, turning them around so she was looking at the palms, seeing that they too, were cut to shreds and covered in a mixture of fresh and dried blood, where she had instinctively tried to break her, many falls. And her cloak was gone. It had been torn off her shoulders by one of the many branches that she had fought against during the night, and when she turned back to retrieve it, she was unable to find it as the forest floor had been cast in pitch darkness. She only hoped that she would stumble across safety soon, before she froze to death out here alone.

She didn't need a mirror to know that she probably looked a state, and she reached up one of her hands, lightly touching her unbound hair, feeling that it was completely tangled, and bigger and messier than usual. When she hadn't been falling over, she had been frantically tearing through branches, even feeling some strands of her hair even being painfully pulled from her head, in her desperate dash to find Elrohir.

And now her hand slowly reached down to her face, and she winced as soon as her fingers came into contact with a nasty cut across her cheek. She suspected that that had been caused by the branches, as well, and wondered if she had more scratches adorning her face.

But she was woken from her thoughts, by the sound of some twigs snapping, and muffled voices in the distance. She had gone through the entire night without coming upon anyone else in this dank forest, and had silently thanked the Valar for that. But over the last few hours, as she had gotten more and more lost, she had secretly hoped to happen upon one of the wood-elves on patrol out here. Even though she felt incredibly threatened by the Mirkwood folk, they would definitely be a welcomed sight right now, as she found herself becoming more disorientated with every step she took. In fact, she was certain that she had seen this particular tree twice already...

The snapping of twigs, and muffled voices became louder, and she unknowingly held her breath as whoever it was, drew closer. She could only hope that it was the Mirkwood elves, and not one of the dangers that she had been warned, lurked out here.

But her heart sank when, as they got closer, she could hear that, whomever they were, they weren't speaking Sindarin, but spoke some foreign language that she has never heard, or studied, before. She knew of the Black Speech, and wondered if this was what she was hearing, now...

"Atigat!"

Lynwen froze as she saw the ghastly beings emerge from the darkness, noticing that the one who had shouted out that strange word, was looking and pointing directly at her, signalling to the others. What were these creatures? Were these orcs? She had no idea, for she had never seen anything in her lifetime other than elves and humans!

But what she _was _sure of, seeing the way that they were leering at her, and licking their lips as if she was a succulent joint of meat, was that these creatures where not friend, but definitely foe.

They were sniggering amongst each other now, as they looked her up and down, speaking in a harsh sounding tongue that Lynwen could not decipher at all. But judging by the tone of their words, and the sneering smiles that were adorning their mangled, and hideous faces, it was obvious that their conversation was of a crude nature, and that she, was the focus of that topic.

"Hello, my lovely." One of them addressed her now, and spoke in the common tongue. She had not spoken in the common tongue since Éomer and his entourage stayed in Rivendell, many months before, and so she had to quickly switch her mindset to this popular language.

"When we followed your tracks, we didn't expect to fall upon someone as delightful as yourself." The same one said to her as he began to approach her, his sickening smile still adorning his face and showing his rotten, brown teeth, as he continued to look her body up and down.

Lynwen quickly looked to her left and then to her right, trying to judge the distance to the next tree, so that she could try to make a run for it.

"There is no use of trying to escape." The same one said again. "For you are surrounded."

At that, Lynwen began panicking as she saw a few more of these beings emerge from the trees surrounding her, blocking any small chance of escape. She backed up against the tree behind her, her eyes wide with terror as she watched the group of six, steadily approach her.

"Look at those tits!" One of them shouted. "So round, and pert. I can't wait to get my teeth into those!"

"Yeah, and I bet that when she gets going, they bounce up and down like a wild rabbit!" Another said, inciting a few sniggers from his companions.

"Forget it!" The original one spoke again, addressing the rest of the group with a raised, authoritative voice. He then turned his head to face Lynwen again, his sickening smile adorning his face once more, as he walked further forward, coming to a standstill directly in front of her "She is mine." He said in a quiet tone, his eyes focused solely on hers.

Lynwen tried desperately to hide her fear from the grotesque creature leering over her, his rotten breath making her gag, and the strong smell of BO emanating from him, making her heave. But before she had time to react to his threat, he had brought up his filthy hand, firmly wrapping his fingers around her throat.

"I'm going to enjoy this." He hissed, as he brought his head down and slowly dragged his tongue up the side of her face. "Mmm, you're the best thing I've tasted in weeks!" He said to her while chuckling slightly.

Lynwen instinctively brought up her arms and grabbed a hold of the hand that was still latched onto her throat, desperately trying to pull it off her. But this action just caused his grip on her neck to tighten, causing Lynwen to begin gasping for air as her windpipe was slowly being crushed under his vice-like grip. She reacted by kicking her legs and flailing her arms in her desperate attempt to free herself.

"Hmm, we have a live one here." He said to his companions, his grip on her throat not easing, as he remained completely unaffected by Lynwen's attack on him. "I think I'm going to need some help with this one." He said aloud.

And with that, he lifted Lynwen up off the ground by her throat, before turning around and throwing her onto the ground, causing her to land hard on her back, momentarily knocking the wind out of her. But before she had time to register, four of the creatures had stepped forward and knelt down on the ground surrounding her, each grabbing a hold of an arm and a leg, pinning her hands above her head, while the other two forced her legs to spread open, preventing her from moving.

Lynwen was truly terrified now. She knew exactly what it was that they were planning to do to her, and could only hope that they would at least spare her life afterwards.

But then her panicked thoughts drifted to Celebrían, and what Beriadan had told her. Celebrían had been so traumatised after her encounter with orcs, that she had never fully recovered from her horrific ordeal, forcing her to sail from Middle Earth, leaving behind her husband and three children.

So maybe death would be for the best, even if these are not orcs? She silently wondered to herself, before she was brought back to the horrid reality of the situation she was in as, what appeared to be, the leader of the group who had been holding her by her throat just moments before, now approached her lying, sprawled form, while undoing his trousers with urgency. Lynwen could clearly see his hardened bulge protruding through the material, and couldn't prevent one more final attempt at escape as she started thrashing her limbs. But it was to no avail, for the four holding her, were pinning her firmly to the ground.

And as the leader of the group undid the fastenings on his trousers and whipped out his hardened member, Lynwen's eyes widened in horror at the reality of the terrifying situation.

"Remove her trousers." He ordered the sixth one, who had been standing to the side silently, happily watching the whole thing unfold.

Lynwen turned her head to look at the sixth creature who was approaching her from the side, and watched as he knelt down next to her hip and grabbed a hold of the waistband of her riding pants, roughly pulling them down over her legs.

Lynwen saw an opportunity when the two who had a hold of her ankles, momentarily let go to allow the sixth creature to completely remove her riding pants, and so she began kicking her legs at the three creatures, while letting out an ear-piercing scream that was so loud, that it was very probably heard for at least a mile around.

The two quickly resumed their tight grip on her bare legs, while the leader quickly knelt down and held a dagger up against her neck, his hand slamming across her mouth, ending her earth-shattering scream.

"Try something like that again, whore, and I'll slit your throat, and just fuck your lifeless form, instead."

Lynwen wondered if that was actually the better option. At least she wouldn't be alive to endure his rotten breath, the immense and awful stench coming from his body, and the horrific sex that he was going to force upon her unwilling body at any second.

But before she could beg for him to slit her throat and put an end to the torture, he brought down the hand that had been covering her mouth and ripped her knickers from her body, tossing them to the sixth creature, who had now gone back to his earlier position to watch. She saw out of the corner of her eye how the sixth creature brought up her torn underwear to his face and inhaled deeply, clearly revelling in Lynwen's scent, before he calmly spoke. "Fuck her real good, Captain." He sneered through his perverted smile.

"I intend to." The leader quietly replied as he hovered above Lynwen, the tip of his hard member now touching her entrance.

And at that precise moment, Lynwen gave up. She had no fight left in her, and knew that any attempt to try to escape, would be futile. She could only mentally brace herself for what was to come next.

But just as the leader re-positioned himself, and made to begin entering her, his body suddenly stiffened, a look of surprise and pain appeared on his face, before his eyes lost their life and his body collapsed on top of hers, crushing her with his dead weight.

She looked over his shoulder to see an arrow protruding from his mid-back, directly in line with his heart. And before she could fathom what was happening, she heard the cries of the four who were pinning her to the ground, and quickly looked around to see that they too, had succumbed to death in the same fashion as their leader. She then looked to the sixth creature who had been standing to the side, and saw how he had quickly turned around, and had started running away. But before he could take another step, a dagger seemed to come from nowhere, and firmly planted itself in his thigh, causing him to fall to the ground as he cried out from the pain.

But after only a second, the creature quickly composed himself and desperately attempted to crawl away from the massacre, the dagger still protruding from his leg.

But he didn't get very far as, the last person that Lynwen expected to see, materialised from the darkness of the surrounding trees like an enraged ghost. His ice-blue eyes were fixated upon the creature attempting to crawl away, while his large hardened hands, screwed up into fists by his sides, his long blond hair falling over his shoulders as he towered over the foul being. And after only a second of looking down at the creature in disgust, he brought back one of his legs, and firmly kicked the disgusting being in his ribcage, causing it to fall back to the ground again, in pain.

"Legolas." Lynwen whispered under her breath as she looked upon the Mirkwood prince, seeing that his attention was solely focused on the foul being writhing at his feet, and that Legolas' teeth were gritted, as rage appeared to be soaring through the blond ellon's veins, his broad chest heaving as his fury took a hold of his breathing pattern.

Did he even know that she was there? Lynwen thought to herself, for he hadn't, once, looked over at her, and hadn't even shown any sort of indication that he'd even seen her buried underneath the dead body that was continuing to crush her.

But just then, the immense pressure of the leader's corpse on top of her, was lifted, instantly freeing her lungs to expand fully, allowing her to breath deeply again. She turned her head away from Legolas to see that her attempted rapist's lifeless form, had completely disappeared from on top of her, and that a cloak had been considerately placed over her bare legs.

"My name is Horthien, my lady."

Lynwen looked up to see a brown-haired ellon kneeling beside her, his hand was held out to her, his warm, kind smile, encouraging her to trust him. She slowly reached up her own hand, taking a hold of his, and allowed him to help her to sit up.

"Did they... hurt you... my lady?" Horthien asked her gently, as he brought a comforting arm around her shoulders.

Lynwen just looked at him for a few moments, still shocked from her terrifying encounter to be able to string together any words, before she just shook her head in response.

Horthien nodded while letting out a relieved sigh. "That is good." He said, with a gentle smile adorning his handsome face.

"Why won't you orc scum just fuck off and die!?"

Lynwen and Horthien's attention was brought back to Legolas, seeing that the Mirkwood prince was now on his knees, holding the orc by his collar as he snarled the obscenity into the creature's face.

The orc, although obviously in a lot of pain, only sniggered at Legolas' words. "My master will ensure that it will be the other way around." The orc said as he smirked up at the young prince. "It won't be long, you mark my words, and all you elf scum will be eradicated from this earth. Sauron will ensure it!" He spat out at Legolas.

Legolas reacted to the threat by smiling widely at his enemy, his piercing blue eyes lighting up with some sort of delight. "Oh, I am going to thoroughly enjoy gutting you like a wild boar." He said to the orc, with a disturbing calmness in his smooth voice.

The orc only continued to stare up at Legolas, not attempting to escape, and refusing to back down. It was obvious that he was intending to die with pride, and silently awaited the elf prince's next move.

Legolas slowly pulled his dagger from the orc's thigh, making sure to twist it around a bit during it's extraction, inciting pained groans from the orc, but he did not break his deadly eye-contact from the creature for a second.

But still, the orc remained in his position on the ground, determined to take whatever was going to happen to him.

Legolas, with his cold, icy stare, still fixed upon the foul creature, then brought his dagger up to his enemy's neck, and before anyone could even blink, he had slit the orc's throat from ear to ear, in one, smooth, fluid motion, causing the orc to gurgle as he instinctively tried to continue breathing.

Lynwen gasped as she witnessed the horrific sight, never before having ever seen anyone being killed, and the sight of the orc desperately trying to cling to life, as black blood gushed from his throat at an alarming rate, caused her to scramble to her feet in panic, and back away from the situation until she came into contact with a tree, and was unable to move back any more. Luckily, she was wearing one of Elrohir's shirts, which meant that it was long enough to cover her modesty. But concealing her naked lower half, was the last thing on her mind right now, as she watched the horrendously slow and painful death of the orc, with Legolas watching on with what appeared to be, enjoyment on his face.

Horthien saw her unease and turned in Legolas' direction. "Legolas." He said, trying to get his best friend's attention. "The Lady." Horthien gestured his head to Lynwen, trying to remind Legolas of the scared human who had probably never witnessed death, before. Especially a death as terrible as this one.

But Legolas didn't acknowledge Horthien's call, and continued to focus his attention on the dying orc before him, and he was still on his knees and appearing to be in some sort of trance. Then Legolas clenched his jaw as he seethed through his gritted teeth, his breathing becoming frantic, as rage appeared to be taking over his body again. He then brought up his dagger, and began stabbing the orc over and over again, his violent and aggressive actions, finally finishing the orc off, and killing it dead.

But Legolas didn't stop. He continued stabbing the corpse in frantic and vicious motions, causing black blood from the dead body, to splatter all over him, while he began screaming more obscenities at the dead orc that he was mutilating. "Die, you piece of shit!" He shouted with a quivering voice, as angry tears began to fill his blue eyes.

"Legolas! He is dead!" Horthien shouted from his crouched position, where Lynwen had been sat next to him, previously. "Legolas, stop!" He shouted again, as he began to stand up, and walk over to the prince. "Legolas!"

Lynwen just remained backed up against the tree, watching in horror as she witnessed Legolas stab the corpse over and over again with such strength, anger and speed, that the orc's body was beginning to open up and come apart from the extreme violence that the prince was inflicting on it. She saw with shock how some of the innards of the orc had started to spill out of his corpse, it's black blood staining the ground and splattering Legolas, simultaneously.

It was the most brutal and hideous thing that she had ever witnessed in her life, and she bent over and began to wretch, not knowing whether she was heaving from the sight of the sadistic execution happening before her, or from her tremendous fear of Legolas.

"Legolas! Stop!" Horthien shouted again as he ran up to his best friend, grabbing a hold of his arms, and firmly restraining the Mirkwood Prince's hands behind his back.

Legolas struggled to break free from Horthien's hold, desperately trying to continue attacking the dead orc at his feet, but Horthien kept a firm grip on his friend. "This isn't going to bring her back, Legolas." Horthien spoke softly from behind the prince, firmly holding his hands behind his back. "Your mother is gone, my friend. You must come to terms with this." Horthien softly pleaded in Legolas' ear, his strong hold being too much for the emotionally weakened prince.

Legolas stopped resisting, and slumped onto ground, allowing a few stifled sobs to escape his lips, as a couple of stray, angered tears, ran down his fair face.

Horthien crouched down beside him, releasing his hold on Legolas' arms, and instead, embraced his best friend in an attempt to comfort him.

Lynwen turned her head and watched this interaction before her with curious intrigue. Legolas had gone from being the psycho that she had always suspected he was, to this deeply emotional wreck, in a matter of seconds. His shoulders were rapidly rising up and down where he was heaving frantically from his rage and sadness, and his forehead was resting against Horthien's shoulder, causing his long, blood stained hair, to hang in front of his face. She could hear a few, barely audible, sobs, coming from the prince, as his best friend laid a friendly hand on his back, causing Lynwen to momentarily pity Legolas. The murder of his mother, was clearly still something that haunted him tremendously.

But Legolas' next action, firmly turned him back into the fearsome ellon that scared Lynwen witless, as his head unexpectedly snapped up from Horthien's shoulder to look straight at her. His piercing eyes, were clearly showing his rage, as his expression turned into a harsh scowl.

"You!" Legolas shouted at Lynwen, as he brought up his hand, pointing his bloodied dagger straight at her.

Lynwen froze under his petrifying stare, as she eyed the dagger that he was aiming at her. And she jumped slightly as he suddenly stood up, and started walking towards her, his cold stare never leaving her eyes, as he continued to point the dagger in her direction.

"You just couldn't help yourself, could you?!" He shouted, as he continued walking towards her.

"Legolas." Horthien called, coolly reminding his friend to calm down.

But Legolas ignored him, and came to a stand-still directly in front of Lynwen, his furious eyes boring into hers, as he continued pointing his dagger, which was now just inches from her face.

"You just had to go running off into the forest on your own! Even though you've been warned so many times about how dangerous it is out here! What the hell were you thinking, Lynwen?!" He shouted at her.

Lynwen just continued staring at him with wide, terrified eyes, as she fumbled her hand by her side, frantically searching for something.

"Was it Elrohir that you were seeking?!" Legolas asked with his, still, raised voice, the fury in his ice-coloured eyes, still very prominent, as he towered over her small frame. "If Elrohir wanted you, then he would have come for you!" He screamed at her.

Just then, Lynwen found what she had been searching for, and quickly brought up the small dagger that Meldiron had given to her, firmly pressing the tip of it into Legolas' neck.

"Get away from me, you psycho, or I'll kill you!" She threatened, with a quivering voice, her pitiful eyes displaying more fear than threat, as her shaky hands held the tip of her dagger to his throat.

Legolas' eyes instantly softened at the sight of her fragile form. Her big blue eyes were watered from unshed tears, and her cheeks, although covered in scrapes, were flushed a lovely pink colour, matching her full lips. Her wild dark brown hair, was messily tousled and framing her pretty face, and her chest was rapidly rising up and down from her erratic breathing.

She had never looked more beautiful, Legolas realised at that moment.

He slowly brought up his arm and gently took a hold of both of Lynwen's small hands in just one of his large, calloused palms, steadily bringing her dagger away from his throat. "No you won't." He said softly, as he continued to stare directly into her eyes.

But Lynwen's breathing began to increase, and her uneasy and terrified expression amplified drastically. "Please... please don't hurt me." She quietly begged, as her petrified eyes darted back and forth between the two of his.

Legolas felt his gut wrench at hearing Lynwen's plea, instantly feeling so hurt that she would think that he could ever bring himself to hurt her. And his expression now softened completely as he continued to lock eye-contact with the scared, young woman, before him, taking a few moments to gaze at her.

"Lynwen... I would never... I would never hurt you." He said in a soft whisper, his eyes anxiously searching hers.

But Lynwen broke the eye-contact with him, and nervously looked at the dagger that he was still pointing at her.

Legolas followed her stare, and instantly dropped his weapon to his side when he saw what it was that she was looking at.

"Lynwen, I didn't mean to frighten you. I wasn't going to use the weapon on you, I assure you." He quietly pleaded with her. "I just... I don't know... Just seeing what those orcs were trying to do to you, caused me to see red, and I just wasn't thinking straight." He implored, as his worried eyes began searching hers again. He continued to tenderly look at her for a few moments, hoping that she would forgive him for his brutish behaviour, but he just took a deep breath after he'd gotten no response from her, before he quietly spoke again.

"I didn't mean to shout at you, but I have just been so worried for you, that I lost my temper." He took another deep breath now, before softly continuing. "And I'm sorry, I should never have subjected you to that slaying." He said quietly, as he continued searching her eyes for some sort of acknowledgement. "I would never hurt you, Lynwen, please believe me." He whispered, his smooth voice making another attempt to ease her fear.

But Lynwen didn't say anything. Legolas' words were doing very little to alleviate her fears of him. And the image of him mutilating that orc, was the only thing that she could picture when she looked at him now. And being in his presence, now distressed her even more than it ever did before. She was utterly terrified of him.

Legolas dropped his head and let out a deep sigh, seeing that all his hard work over the past month, of trying to gain Lynwen's confidence, had all been for nothing. She clearly feared him even more, now, and this pained him greatly.

But Lynwen's sudden gasp caused him to look back up at her, seeing that she still looked terrified, but that her gaze was now focused behind him. He turned around to see that Horthien had also turned his attention to the trees behind him, all three of them now looking in the same direction at a number of long black legs that were beginning to emerge from the shadows towards them.

"Spider!" Legolas shouted, as he retrieved his bow from his back, quickly notching an arrow, and taking a protective stance in front of Lynwen.

Horthien, being the closest, wasted no time, and immediately fired an arrow straight into the giant spider's eyes, killing it instantly and causing it to fall on its back, with its long, hairy legs, curling up reflexively.

The two elves immediately looked upwards to the tops of the tall trees towering over them, and raised their bows simultaneously, instantly firing arrow after arrow.

Lynwen, still backed up against the bark of the tree, looked up to see what the target of Legolas and Horthien's erratic firing was, and immediately started backing away from their current spot as she witnessed around ten enormous spiders, scurrying down from the tops of the trees towards them. They were each around the size of a horse cart, their enormous eight legs, enabling them to run at the three of them at an unthinkable speed.

"Lynwen, come back!" Legolas shouted over his shoulder, as he saw her backing away in fear. "Lynwen, it's not safe, stay beside me!" He shouted again, after she didn't seem to acknowledge his first plea.

Lynwen seemed to snap out of her shock after Legolas shouted for a second time, bringing her head down to see that Horthien was still solely focused on the creatures above, his bow still skilfully releasing arrows, but that Legolas seemed to be keeping one eye on her. But even with the prince only keeping half of his attention on the attacking arachnids, his deftly firing skills never missed a target, expertly killing the spiders, and causing their carcasses to come crashing to the forest floor.

And after only around ten seconds, the forest seemed to fall eerily silent again, as the three of them found themselves surrounded by dead, enormous spiders.

So these were the infamous creatures that would attack from above? Lynwen thought to herself, as the mystery of Elrond's words from a month ago, were finally solved.

"There will be more." Horthien said, as he turned to face Legolas. "We must be moving!"

Legolas nodded in agreement as he turned and picked something up from the forest floor. He studied the material in his hands for a couple of seconds, before he walked over to Lynwen, who was frozen to her spot, staring at the gigantic spiders with wide eyes.

"Lynwen, are you ok?" He asked, as he took a hold of one of her hands in his.

Lynwen snapped out of her petrified trance, and turned her head to meet Legolas' gaze, before looking down to see that he had a hold of her hand. She instantly pulled her hand free from his gentle grip, before taking a defensive step away.

It was another stab to Legolas' heart, as he watched her back away from him, but he just took a deep breath, and instead, handed her the dark green material that he was holding. "Here." He said, in a quiet voice, with a nervously small, but comforting smile, upon his face.

Lynwen looked down to his hand, and instantly recognised her riding pants. She hesitantly reached out her hands to his, and then quickly took them from him, holding them against her chest as she continued to stare at him warily.

"Myself and Horthien will give you a few moments to dress yourself, but then you must come back with us. It is not safe out here." He said softly.

Lynwen didn't respond, and only continued to stare at him nervously.

Legolas just dropped his head in defeat, and slowly turned from Lynwen, signalling for Horthien to do the same, both of them allowing her to dress herself in privacy.

"Lynwen, are you decent?" Legolas asked after a few moments, with his back still turned to her. Horthien had walked into the trees that the first spider had come from, quickly studying the area to see if danger was still close by.

"Yes." Lynwen replied after a couple of seconds.

Legolas turned around to face her again, seeing that she was now wearing her riding pants and shirt, but nothing else. He figured that she must be freezing after being out here all night, and so he removed his cloak from his shoulders and walked up to her, raising it up and wrapping it around her own shoulders after he'd come to a stand-still in front of her.

His close proximity caused Lynwen to stiffen, as she focused her attention on his fingers, which were firmly clasping the brooch at her neck in place, preventing the cloak from falling off.

"But I'm not going back with you." Lynwen said suddenly, as she lifted her head to look at his face.

Legolas' fingers instantly stopped what they were doing, and he slowly brought up his own head to meet her gaze. "What do you mean, you're not coming back with us? Where are you planning to go?"

Lynwen continued to lock eye-contact with Legolas, her eyes showing her defiance as she straightened up a little taller, abruptly shrugging his hands away from her neck. "I have to find Elrohir." She simply said.

Legolas' brow furrowed as he continued to look at her. "Elrohir is in Imladris, Lynwen..."

"You don't know that!" She interrupted. "He could be out here... hurt... alone..." She trailed off quietly. She took a deep breath, determined to stand her ground. "I have to know that he's ok." She finally said, still looking Legolas squarely in the eye.

Legolas just looked back at her for a few moments, before he gently spoke. "Lynwen..." He sighed deeply now, contemplating how he was going to continue on with his sentence without upsetting her. "...Elrohir is not here." He finally said, continuing to look into her confused eyes for a few seconds. "If Elrohir was out here, he would have been discovered by our Guard, by now..."

"But what if he's been taken by orcs, or those spiders!" She said, gesturing to the carcasses surrounding them.

Legolas felt such sympathy for her at that moment. She was so desperate to ensure her lover's safety, utterly convinced that the only reason Elrohir still hadn't arrived at his father's Halls to retrieve her, was because he must have met with danger on his way here. But Legolas was sure of the real reason as to why Elrohir still wasn't here, and he took another deep breath before he gently revealed what he suspected, to Lynwen.

"Lynwen. You and I both know, that Elrohir can take care of himself, and that if he did decide to make the journey here to Mirkwood, then he would have easily made it here in one piece, and in record time, no doubt!" He said, watching how her eyes were now only displaying desperation, and frantically searching his for an answer.

"So, I can only assume, Lynwen, that the real reason Elrohir is not here, is not because he has been attacked or captured on his way here... but because he has just simply decided not to come for you."

Lynwen didn't respond immediately, and could only stare back at the, unhinged, ellon standing before her, as she slowly tried to process his words.

"You're wrong." She eventually said, while shaking her head slightly. "You don't know him like I do."

Actually, Legolas knew Elrohir really well. Although there were many years in-between their meetings, Legolas was considered a good friend of the Rivendell twins, and the three of them had always gotten on very well.

But Legolas had witnessed on a number of occasions, Elrohir's treatment of the opposite sex, and wondered if Lynwen had merely been just another conquest of his. Another notch to add to his bedpost.

"I know what you're thinking." Lynwen interrupted his thoughts. "I know all about Elrohir's past. But what we had... what we _have_..." She corrected herself."...is different." She spoke with confidence, and her head was held up high. But her eyes didn't seem to be holding the same belief that her words did. Her eyes seemed to reveal that she was actually contemplating Legolas' words.

"Legolas! We must be going!" Horthien's urgency interrupted them, causing Legolas to turn to face his friend, nodding his agreement, before turning back to Lynwen.

"Please." He whispered to her. "You must come back with us. You will die out here, if you do not." He quietly pleaded.

"Legolas." Horthien called again, his voice sounding more urgent as he frantically looked around at the trees surrounding them.

Legolas nodded again over his shoulder at his friend, before turning his attention back to Lynwen. He held his hand out to her, with his ice-blue eyes locked on hers. "Please." He begged again.

Lynwen truly didn't know what to make of him. Seeing the way he practically ripped that orc's body apart, before, petrified her to her very core, and disturbed her greatly. And it also intensified her feelings of fear towards the blond prince.

But looking into his eyes now, seeing how they were no longer full of hatred, anger and menace, but instead, were filled with kindness and gentleness, she wondered if going back the Halls with him, was probably the better option. She knew Legolas was right. After her ordeal with the orcs, followed by the attack from the spiders, she knew that she would have been dead, twice over by now, if it wasn't for him and Horthien, and that she would most certainly die out here if she decided to remain alone.

So she knew she had to go back with them, even though she'd rather be a million miles from Legolas right now, but she knew that this was her only option.

She subtly nodded her head, confirming that she would accompany them back to the Halls, which caused Legolas to smile widely in relief, as his shoulders dropped a little in relaxation. He continued to hold out his hand to her, but Lynwen merely took a step back from him, her demeanour remaining cautious of the blond ellon, as she stepped around him, keeping a wide berth from his person, as she came to a stand-still beside Horthien, but her wary, staring eyes, never left the Mirkwood prince.

Legolas' hand flopped to his side, as he turned to face Lynwen, his expression clearly showing the pain that he was feeling at her rejection, wishing more than anything, that he could undo the last twenty minutes, and make her see the caring and compassionate ellon that he truly was. To make her realise that he was an ellon who would always ensure her safety and well-being. An ellon, who would always do everything in his power to make sure that she was always happy. And an ellon, who would forever possess these strong feelings that had continued to fog his mind, and tug at his heart, since the very first day that he ever laid eyes upon her.


	20. The Pain of Being in Love

**WARNING- This chapter contains sexual content.**

Chapter 20 - The Pain of Being in Love

The three year old child stared down into the clear waters of the slow flowing river as she laid on her stomach on the bank, resting her head in the crook of her elbow, as her other arm draped over the edge, slowly fingering the cool water below.

The Summer sun had set hours ago, giving way to the pitch-black sky that now hung over-head, glittering with the millions of stars that she had come to love. She knew it was well past her bedtime, and that she shouldn't be down here by the river alone. Her father had made it very clear on many occasions that she was not to go to the water's edge on her own, but she just couldn't resist coming down here. She had always loved her times spent in this river, and thoroughly enjoyed watching the calm flow of it, especially at night-time, when the silvery glow of the moon and stars would twinkle on the surface.

And right now, she was occupied with trying to befriend the few fish that were aimlessly swimming around, innocently reaching out to touch them every time they swam close to her hand. But frustratingly for her, they quickly darted out of her reach whenever she attempted to stroke them, causing her to furrow her brow in confusion.

"Why do you keep swimming away from me?" She asked them, a little hurt by their actions. "I only wish to be your friend." She implored.

"Little one? Little one, are you down here?"

The three year old instantly sprang to her feet in excitement, unable to contain the huge smile that now adorned her face and lit up her large blue eyes. She knew _that _voice!

"Little one?" The familiar voice called out again, and was now sounding a little anxious.

But just at that moment, the three year old launched herself from behind one of the bushes, startling the owner of the familiar voice as she came to an abrupt stand-still in front of him, skidding on the dirt as she did so. Her little body was in a pounce-like position, as she continued to hold the beaming smile on her baby-like face.

"Hey! There you are!" The familiar voice, happily exclaimed.

"Elrohir!" She blurted out, as she started at a run towards him, leaping from the ground and up into his arms, and firmly planting her knee into his stomach in the process.

"Oof!" He grunted from the pain, as he doubled over slightly, but he still kept a firm hold of the child who was now on his hip. He took a couple of seconds to compose himself, before he turned his head to look at the ecstatic face of the young girl, who now had her arms firmly wrapped around his neck, completely oblivious to the fact that she had just kneed him in his stomach, as she just looked at him with excitement flashing in her eyes.

"And how's my little Lynwen?" He asked, as he brought up one of his hands and lightly tapped the end of her nose with his index finger.

"Fine!" She answered enthusiastically, with a slight bounce of her body.

"Fine!?" Elrohir mimicked her response, as he smiled warmly at his young foster sister.

Lynwen nodded ferociously as her little hands, coyly, tugged and played with his long black ponytail, before she suddenly smiled even broader, releasing his hair and leaning in to embrace his neck even tighter as she leaned her head onto his shoulder.

"I missed you!" Her baby-like voice shouted, as her grip on him tightened even more.

"Aye, and I missed you, little one!" He said as he brought up one of his hands to rest on the back of her head, snuggling her affectionately.

"I hate when you go petol!" She said with a creased brow, as she brought back her head to look at him.

Elrohir chuckled at her inability to be able to speak properly. "You mean, you hate it when I have to go on patrol?" He asked her, as he continued chuckling slightly.

But Lynwen seemed unaware that she was the subject of his current humour, and just nodded in agreement. "You always go long time!" She stated, still with her brow furrowed in perplexity.

"I've only been gone a couple of weeks." He reminded her softly, as he now just smiled at her affectionately.

But Lynwen didn't respond, and instead, became increasingly interested in playing with his hair again.

"What were you doing down here alone, little one?" He now asked a little more seriously. "You know you're not supposed to come down here on your own. You had us all worried."

Lynwen, sensing that she was in trouble, didn't make eye-contact with her older brother, and continued to stare at his hair, which was now draping over his shoulder. "I... I just wanted to see the fishies." She replied coyly.

"And did you see them!?" Elrohir asked her excitedly, unable to bring himself to be cross with her.

Lynwen, picking up on her brother's, now, positive tone of voice, instantly perked up and met his stare. "Yes, I saw them!" She replied enthusiastically, before her expression saddened a little. "But... but, they wouldn't let me touch them." She said more quietly, as her small fingers continued to tangle in his long black locks.

Elrohir brought up one of his hands, tucking a piece of her unruly hair behind her ear. "They were probably a bit frightened." He said, as he finished his attempt to tidy her dark brown tresses from her face.

But Lynwen instantly bolted her body upright, her eyes wide and startled, as she looked at Elrohir. "I would never hurt them!" She assured her brother, as her naive eyes frantically looked to his in her desperate attempt to convince him of her kindness.

Elrohir couldn't help but smile even more at the innocence of the young child that he had come to love so much. "I know you wouldn't, Lynwen. But they don't know that." He softly explained to her.

"Lynwen!"

The young child instantly stiffened at the sound of the strict voice that was her father, before she wrapped her arms around her brother's neck again, hiding her face in his hair. Elrohir casually turned to face his father, as his protective arm wrapped around Lynwen's back, holding her close on his hip.

"Lynwen! We've all been searching for you! We've all been frantic with worry! I certainly hope that you weren't at the river?!" Elrond sternly asked, with a raise of his eyebrow.

But Lynwen only peeked at her father from behind her brother's hair for a second, before quickly burying her face back into the crook of Elrohir's neck again.

"She just wanted to see the fishies." Elrohir quickly interrupted the awkward stand-off, as he gave his father a look, politely asking him to go easy on his beloved sister.

Elrond just took a deep breath after seeing his son's silent plea, slowly trying to calm himself.

Lynwen had been missing for a few hours, and Elrond, along with Anira and Arwen, had all been worried sick! Elrond had already come down here to look for her around two hours ago, but she hadn't been here then, and was probably busy exploring some other part of the realm, instead. And her twin brothers had joined in the frantic search when they had returned from their two-week patrol, around an hour ago.

But looking at her tiny form, nervously hiding behind Elrohir's hair, instantly caused Elrond to soften his terrifying demeanour. He took another breath, desperately trying to calm his worried mind, before he softly spoke. "Well, we can look at the... _fishies_... some other time."

Elrohir couldn't help but snigger at his father's uncomfortable use of the word 'fishies', clearly hearing the hesitation in Elrond's voice as he forced himself to say the incorrect word, in his fatherly attempt to reassure Lynwen that he wasn't angry.

"Now, come, back to the house with you, young lady. It is well past your bedtime, and everyone will want to know that you are safe and sound." Elrond said, as he turned and started to walk in the direction of the main residences, looking over his shoulder to check that Elrohir was following with Lynwen.

"Come on, little one, let's get back to the house, where I have something special waiting for you." Elrohir said with a smirk on his face.

Lynwen instantly straightened up from her hiding position, as she began to bounce her little body up and down in Elrohir's arms, a huge, excited smile, spread across her little face at the promise of a gift.

"You spoil her too much." Elrond said to his son over his shoulder, his frown showing his disapproval.

But Elrohir just looked at his young sister with an affectionate smile, his grey eyes shining with adoration. "Not nearly enough!" He said to the little girl with a grin, tapping the end of her nose again, with his finger...

...And it was this final tap, that awoke Lynwen from her restless sleep, with a start.

She remained on her bed for a few minutes, staring up at the ceiling of the Mirkwood chambers that had been hers for four months now.

It was now late December, and the weather had turned bitterly cold as of late, as Mirkwood experienced a harsh winter. And the cold temperatures didn't help much, when it came to trying to sleep at night. Well, for Lynwen, at least, anyway.

And memories of her past had been plaguing her dreams for a few months now, contributing to her sleepless nights. And they always consisted of memories that were shared with Elrohir. Whether they be memories of the wonderful romance they shared, or of recollections from her childhood, like the one that she had just experienced, for example. She had actually completely forgotten about that particular evening when she had been only three years old, and she didn't know why it was coming to the forefront of her mind now.

Ever since Legolas and Horthien had found, and rescued her out in the forest of Mirkwood three months earlier, her, almost, every waking hour had been spent thinking about the love of her life, and why he hadn't yet come for her. She tried, desperately, all day long to re-direct her mind away from thoughts of Elrohir, but it was to no avail, for her heart and soul cried out for him constantly. She loved him more than life itself, and had thought that he had felt the same way about her. He had told her so enough times during their intense relationship that they had shared in Rivendell, and she'll never forget the pained look on his face during the last time that she saw him. It was a look of longing, but also of regret at having to leave her, as he departed for the North with Elladan and Estel. And the words he had whispered in her ear just moments before he left: _'Know that I love you, little one, and that I always will.' _were still engraved into her mind, as well as the promise that he had made to her just seconds after that: '_I'll come back for you, Lynwen, I promise.' _he had said, before he leapt upon his horse, and disappeared out through the gates of Imladris, and completely out of sight.

So did he keep to his promise, and had he gone back for her? Surely if he had gone back to Imladris, as rumour had suggested, and had learnt of her abandonment, then keeping to his promise would mean him coming for her in Mirkwood, instead, wouldn't it?

But since she had had a few months to dwell on these thoughts, she had come to many conclusions, and had finally settled on the possibility that her twin brothers hadn't actually made it back to Imladris to begin with. Sure, those two Mirkwood soldiers had reported that the twins had departed the North for Rivendell, but that didn't mean that her brothers had actually returned to their homeland, straight away.

So it was very possible that Elrohir still hadn't learnt of Lynwen's abandonment yet. In fact, Lynwen was certain that this was the case, for knowing her elven lover like she did, she knew that a pack of wild horses wouldn't be able to keep him away from her.

She brought her hands up to her head now, gently rubbing her temples with her fingertips, as she felt the onslaught of another headache developing. These had become rather frequent lately, as her thoughts of all these possible and probable explanations of Elrohir's absence, whirled around in her brain at a hundred miles per hour.

And her horrific experience out in the depths of Mirkwood forest, three months earlier, still played heavily on her mind, also. Just the thought of what that orc nearly did to her, still made her heave from fright, and cry from anguish. Every time she closed her eyes, she could still smell his rotten breath and the stench of his disgusting body, and could even feel the weight of him on top of her. And even more horrifically, she could still vividly remember the feel of his erection between her legs.

She had spent so many nights since that terrifying morning, being far too petrified to go to sleep. And she had even spent a good part of the last three months hidden away in her chambers, very rarely attending meals, and as yet, still hadn't returned to work in the mending rooms. She just felt much safer being locked away in her bedroom, knowing that it was highly unlikely that any orcs or giant spiders would be able to get to her here. The healers had told her that her mental injuries would heal in time, but as yet, she still felt no different, and she was still just as nervous, upset and terrified as she was on the day of her dreadful ordeal.

But even so, she knew that she couldn't hide away in here forever, and she wondered how long it would take for Thranduil's patience to grow thin with the slow speed of her recovery. She was certain that it wouldn't be much longer before the Mirkwood king, personally came to her chambers and ordered her to return to work.

But until that day arrived, she decided that she would just continue to hide away in the safety of her room. Away from rapist orcs, murdering mutant spiders... and Legolas.

A knock on her bedroom door startled her from her thoughts, and made her jump from fright. She feared it may be Legolas, for he had recently started to call upon her. Apart from the two nights that she had spent in the healing rooms, where Legolas hadn't left her side for a second, she hadn't actually seen him for the last three months, aside from the few occasions that she had found the courage to leave her room and go to dinner. It seemed that he had gotten the hint that she didn't want him anywhere near her, and so, he had stayed away, only leaving meals for her outside her bedroom door.

But these past couple of weeks, it seemed he had developed some sort of courage, as he had started to knock on her door, as apposed to just silently leaving the food tray outside for her to find. When Lynwen would answer the door, their conversations were usually just one-sided, with Legolas asking how she was feeling, and Lynwen just giving one-word answers, where she was trying to prevent any sort of interaction with the younger prince as much as possible. Just remembering the way he brutally mutilated that orc, still made her wretch with pure fear.

Lynwen sat upright on her bed now, sighing heavily as the knock sounded again. She took a couple of deep breaths to steady her nerves as she got up off her bed and walked over to the door. But as she opened it, she was relieved to see that it was only Meldiron standing there.

But before she had a chance to smile from relief, he burst into her room, almost knocking her over as he entered.

"Get washed, and get dressed." He ordered her, walking over to the doors to the balcony, firmly opening the curtains, which, he suspected, hadn't been opened in days. He then walked back to the middle of her room, coming to a stop where he remained stood, looking at her.

Lynwen slowly closed her bedroom door, and just remained standing there, staring at the older elf in disbelief.

"Did you not hear me?" He asked her unsympathetically with a booming voice, his brow heavily furrowed as he looked at her sternly. "You've hidden yourself away in here long enough, Lynwen, and I'm not going to stand by, while you wallow in self pity. Now go and get washed and dressed, because right now, you smell like the hind-end of a donkey!" He said as he pointed to her adjoined bathroom.

It took Lynwen a few seconds to recover from her shock as she continued to stand rooted to the spot, just staring at Meldiron. She was instantly thrown back to her childhood when her father would order her in a similar fashion. But after a few seconds of stunned silence, she couldn't help but to break out into a wide smile, and couldn't contain a small chuckle at hearing his comparison to a donkey, of all creatures!

"Really, Lynwen, I'm serious." He said, as he continued to look at her with a stern expression. "You stink." He said as a matter-of-fact.

Lynwen couldn't help but to laugh even more now, which caused Meldiron to frown at her even more.

"This isn't meant to be funny, Lynwen."

But Lynwen's dirty laughter only became more boisterous at Meldiron's scolding, which, after a few seconds, caused his stern expression to crack as his mouth upturned into a smile, at hearing her laugh.

After her laughter had died down, Lynwen then sighed heavily, and subtly nodded her head in agreement. "Ok." She said through an exhale. "You're right, I'll get bathed and dressed." She said in defeat.

"Good!" Meldiron said. "So I'll be back for you in an hour, and then I'm taking you to the training fields."

Lynwen's head snapped up at him in astonishment. "The training fields? But, why?"

Meldiron came to a standstill in front of her, his tall frame towering over her as his eyes softened in compassion. "Because, Lynwen, in case you have already forgotten, just three months ago, that pack of orcs very nearly..." Meldiron couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence, as his hands clenched into fists at his sides. He took a deep breath before he continued on. "So, Lynwen, I have made the decision that while I am off duty from border service, I will be training you on how to fight, so that if you ever find yourself in a similar situation again, you will be able to defend yourself. So, I will come to collect you in one hour, after which I will train you in the art of the bow." He said, before he firmly bowed his head, and exited from her room.

Lynwen sighed heavily. She remembered how Glorfindel had attempted to train her in archery all those years ago, and it had been a complete disaster. She wasn't talented with a bow, and so she knew that any lessons that Meldiron was about to give her, were going to be futile. But even so, she hesitantly walked into the bathing chamber to get washed.

Just over half an hour later, a knock sounded on her bedroom door. Lynwen was already washed, and was just in the process of getting dressed. "Just a second." She called out, as she hastily threw on a tunic over her head, and pulled on a pair of leggings, before walking to the door. "You're early." She shouted, before she unbolted the lock, and swung open the door.

But she froze as her glee instantly disappeared after seeing that it was Legolas standing there instead of Meldiron.

"I apologise, would you prefer that I come back a little later?" Legolas asked hesitantly, still finding himself treading on very cautious ground when it came to addressing Lynwen.

Looking down, she was surprised to see that he didn't have a breakfast tray with him. "Why are you here?" She asked him quietly but straight to the point, ignoring his question.

Legolas looked down to the floor for a second as he took a breath, before looking up to meet her defensive gaze. "I just wanted to see that you are ok." He replied softly, his eyes clearly showing his concern.

"I'm fine, thank you. Now if you'll excuse me..." Lynwen said rather rudely, as she started to close her bedroom door. But she was startled by Legolas' hand suddenly shooting up and slamming against the door, firmly preventing her from closing it. His features had hardened a little now, and his previously kind eyes were now brewing a stormy shade of blue, as he took a step forward onto the threshold of Lynwen's doorway, pushing the door open again.

"What is it that I have done to offend you Lynwen?" He asked her a little sternly, as he took another step into her bedroom, forcing Lynwen to take a retreating step backwards.

"Well, I mean apart from trekking out into the depths of Mirkwood forest to rescue you from those orcs and spiders. And apart from defending you from my father on a daily basis, where I continue to convince him that you still need time to recover before returning to work. And apart from continuously bringing meals to your chambers so that you won't go hungry..." Legolas said in a slightly raised voice, his brow heavily furrowed in frustration as he continued to stare at Lynwen. "And of course, let's not forget how I never left your side during your stay in the Healing Rooms!" He angrily reminded her.

Lynwen just continued to stare back at him, unsure of whether Legolas was actually looking for her to respond, or whether he was just letting off steam. But before she could contemplate that thought any further, he took another step towards her, coming to a stop directly in front of her.

His tall frame now towered over her, as his stormy eyes displayed the mixture of emotions that he was feeling at that moment. After a few moments of looking into her eyes, he then took a slow, deep breath, trying to calm himself, before he spoke again.

"I just don't understand, Lynwen." He spoke more quietly now as his eyes searched hers for some understanding. "Why do you hate me so much?" He asked with his smooth voice almost in a whisper, his ice-blue eyes boring right into hers. "Why do you fear me, so?" He quietly continued.

Lynwen just looked up at him for a few moments, studying the despair in his eyes, and hearing the desperation in his voice. He truly was a mystery to her. Ever since the first day that she met him out in the forest of Mirkwood, four months previous, she had been so utterly intrigued by him. Completely terrified, yes, but fascinated too. She'll never forget how she wasn't able to take her eyes off him that night that they made camp in the forest during the Rivendell party's journey to Mirkwood, remembering how he had looked both so deep in thought and immensely intimidating, as he had gazed into the campfire with his infamous deadly stare.

But right now, although he was a little angered, he was looking at her with nothing but hurt and compassion in his eyes. And it was a look that Legolas had been donning for a while now. She knew that he was a good friend of her twin brothers, and she had watched how Elrond had practically treated him like a son during the short time he had been here, and so she knew deep down that he probably was a good ellon. And even though she didn't like to admit it, he had shown he had a good heart, not only by rescuing her out in the forest, but also by staying by her side during her time in the Healing Rooms.

But then there was that image! That horrendous image that she just couldn't get out of her head!

"I watched you rip his body apart." She finally replied with a slight quiver in her voice, where she defiantly tried to hide her fear.

Legolas' shoulders slumped slightly as he exhaled a long breath. "Lynwen, that wasn't a 'he', that was an 'it', an orc...

"Whether it was an orc or not, it was living and breathing!" She interrupted him. "And you mutilated him!" She shouted with a shaky voice.

Legolas' eyes narrowed now as he concentrated his stare on her even more. "Lynwen. It's exactly what they would have done to you, if they had been given the chance." He retaliated with a slightly raised voice.

"You don't know that!"

"I _do _know, because it's what they did to my mother!" Legolas shouted, but instantly regretted it as he saw the fear in Lynwen's eyes. He took a deep slow breath while dropping his head to the floor. "Lynwen." He said quietly and calmly, as he brought his head back up to look at her. "They were about to rape you. How can you be defending them like this?"

Hearing Legolas say that word, _rape_, the word that she had been trying to run away from ever since the incident took place, instantly brought back all the terror that she had experienced from that fearful morning. The terror that had been keeping her locked away in these chambers ever since. And the terror that brought on her sleepless and restless nights.

She looked up to meet Legolas' gaze, seeing that his was still firmly fixated on hers, clearly awaiting a response. He looked so hurt at that moment as his, still, compassionate eyes desperately searched hers for an answer.

But after no response came from Lynwen, Legolas frowned as his hurt began to turn into anger. How could she be treating him this way? How could she be defending those vile creatures over him?

He abruptly turned away from Lynwen and stormed out of her chambers without a backward glance, or another word spoken, leaving Lynwen standing there staring at the open doorway that he had just left from.

She knew deep down that she was being unfair to him. Apart from Meldiron, Legolas had been the only elf here to not only courteously speak to her, but to continuously go out of his way to ensure that she was comfortable, well-fed, and safe. She knew he had every right to be angry with her, and she didn't blame him one bit. She sighed now, wondering if she should attempt to go after him. But Meldiron's sudden appearance put a stop to that idea.

"Lynwen, is everything alright?" Meldiron asked after seeing Lynwen just standing rooted to her spot, and staring into space.

Lynwen quickly righted herself, not wanting to attract any attention to her uncomfortable interaction with Legolas. "Yes, everything's fine." She said with energy, and a smile on her face.

Meldiron just nodded in her direction. "Very well." He said after a few moments of silence, but he'd been alive for far too long to be so easily fooled, for he knew that something was bothering Lynwen. And he wondered if it was something to do with the young prince Legolas, whom he'd just almost been knocked down by on his way here. Legolas had rounded the corner from the corridor that housed Lynwen's chambers, so fast, and in such a determined manner, that he narrowly missed crashing into Meldiron. And Legolas had just uttered a quick apology to the older elf for his hastiness, before continuing on his way, leaving Meldiron wondering what must have gotten into the usually pleasant blond prince.

But, it would seem by the look on Lynwen's face when he had entered her room, that she was very probably the cause of Legolas' unusual behaviour. He silently wondered what could have transpired between the two of them to have caused Legolas to be so affected emotionally. Meldiron knew the prince well, and had even trained Legolas with the bow when the young ellon had first joined the Mirkwood Guard. Although trained to be a ruthless warrior, he knew Legolas was a patient ellon, and very rarely did anyone get under his skin like this. Meldiron looked at Lynwen now, wondering if the blond prince, after five hundred years of being a renowned bachelor, had finally found love in the Rivendell girl standing before him. If this was the case, he wondered, and dreaded, how Thranduil would take this news.

"Are you ready?" Meldiron asked her.

"Yes, I just need to grab my boots." She said as she walked over to the side of her bed. "You must know, I am absolutely abysmal with the bow." She said as she sat down to pull on her boots.

"Well, let me be the judge of that." Meldiron said, as he leaned against her doorframe.

Lynwen laughed as she lifted her head up to look at the older ellon. "Oh, Meldiron, my archery skills were enough to tip the infamous Glorfindel over the edge of despair, so I don't see how you will fair any better."

Meldiron straightened up somewhat, and held his head up high. "I will have you know, my lady, that I pride myself on my patience."

xxx

"Lynwen, no. Did I not just tell you that you need to keep your left foot there? No, Lynwen, your right elbow needs to be raised more... Seriously, are you listening to anything that I'm saying?!.." Meldiron took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he tried to steady his rising temper. "Ok, Lynwen. I think that's enough practice for today." He said with a forced calmness in his voice, where he tried ever so hard to not lose his patience with her.

Meldiron had been attempting to train Lynwen with the bow for the past six weeks now, whenever he had time off from border duty. But she truly was abysmal with the weapon. In all of his five thousand, one hundred and fifty six years of life, he had never seen anyone as bad as Lynwen was, with the bow. And he swore that she had actually been getting worse over the past weeks, rather than improving! He was at his wits end with her, and knew that he needed to end this lesson now, before he lost it completely.

"I think we'll try the knives, instead. But tomorrow! Yes, tomorrow, because right now I think I can feel a headache coming on for the first time in a thousand years..." Meldiron trailed off, as he turned from Lynwen and began to walk away. "I'll collect you at the same time tomorrow, Lynwen." He called over his shoulder, before he hastily walked away from her, rubbing his forehead in the process.

As Meldiron left the training field, and began to pass through the trees that surrounded the clearing, he decided to acknowledge the person whom he knew had been watching the training session from his hiding place up in a tree.

"Good evening, Legolas." Meldiron said, not even bothering to lift his head up to look at the prince in the branches above him, and instead, continued his walk back to the Halls.

Seeing Legolas up there, only fuelled Meldiron's suspicions of the blond prince's feelings for Lynwen. He smiled to himself, remembering what young love felt like, and secretly hoped that Lynwen would eventually return those feelings to Legolas one day, for he could think of no one better to take care of, and protect Lynwen, like he knew Legolas would. And he was so elated that it seemed to be the younger prince that was pursuing Lynwen, and not Daeron. Meldiron disliked the black-haired prince greatly, and he found himself getting very protective of Lynwen when Daeron was involved. He had actually warned Lynwen to stay away from the eldest prince a few months back, after he had come across Daeron leering over her in a secluded garden. He just hoped that she would continue to heed his warning.

"Um, good evening, Meldiron." Legolas called after the older elf, a little embarrassed that he had known that he was there. Did Meldiron know that he had been hiding there the whole time? But before he could find out, the older elf had disappeared, leaving Legolas to continue wondering.

Legolas turned his gaze back to the clearing, seeing Lynwen still standing in the same spot that Meldiron had left her in. She was attempting to shoot another arrow at the targets ahead, but was still holding the bow all wrong. He couldn't contain a smile at seeing her now, her arms seemingly in a tangle as she tried to hold the bow straight and steady. And when she did finally release the arrow, it landed only a few foot in front of her. He chuckled to himself now, wondering how it was possible for someone to be as bad as she was, especially with the training she had been getting from Meldiron.

He decided to leap down from the tree he had been hiding in, and come to stand behind one of the trees that surrounded the clearing. It was dusk now, and with not much daylight left, he was able to remain hidden in the growing shadows of the woodland.

This was the first time he had seen Lynwen since that morning he had stormed out of her bed chambers, six weeks previous. After that particular morning, he had felt so enraged and hurt by Lynwen's continual snubbing of him, that he immediately volunteered to partake in the extermination of a spiders' nest in the southern area of Mirkwood, and to gather reports of any recent developments in and around Dol Guldur, meaning that he had been absent from the realm until this morning.

He had hoped that by being away from her for an amount of time, would help to extinguish his rapidly growing feelings for the human daughter of Elrond. But after returning to the Halls early this morning, his first thought had been of her. He tried hard all morning to fight the overwhelming desire to visit her, just to see her, despite the bad terms on which he'd left her on six weeks previous. Why was this girl taking over his mind in this way? She was always there, at the forefront, clouding his thoughts and swaying his better judgements. In all of his life, he had never experienced an invasion of his mind like this, not from anyone, not even from all the elleths whom had battled for his affections in the past.

And looking at her now, walking over to the arrow that had landed at a pitiful distance in front of her before bending down to retrieve it and re-notching it in her bow, showed how determined she was to not give up. She had seemed unaware of Meldiron's rising temper during the end of their session, or maybe she just hadn't cared, and instead, just continued to try and hit the targets up ahead. She was a fighter, he realised at that moment, seeing how much she had bounced back from her awful encounter with those pack of orcs, some four months previous. And at how much she just seemed to continue on with her life, despite being so cruelly abandoned by the ellon whom she had considered her father. And then there was the apparent rejection by the ellon whom she had thought of as her brother, and whom she had completely and utterly given her heart to. She had been through so much in the past five months, and still, she always seemed to come back fighting.

His thoughts were brought back to the moment, when he heard the loud twang of Lynwen pulling back on her bowstring incorrectly, seeing that the arrow just fell out of the bow, and landed at her feet. He couldn't contain a small laugh now, at her atrocious skills with the weapon, as he watched her wipe her unruly hair from her face and tucking it tightly behind her ears, before she took aim with the arrow again.

Her hair had gotten a little longer in the five months she had been here, he noticed, now reaching a lot more below her shoulders. And her arms had become slightly more toned in the six weeks he had been gone, which was probably due to the intense training Meldiron had been putting her through. Even from the distance he was standing from her, he could clearly see the concentration in her deep blue eyes, as she tried to focus on the targets ahead, her delicate fingers pulling back on the arrow, preparing to fire. Just looking at her face, and seeing her determination, made his heart ache with longing. She was so beautiful, he thought to himself, as he continued to stare at her. She was not boring and flawless like all the elleths he'd come to know in his life, but instead, was rough and rugged, with fascinating flaws that intrigued him greatly, and made her tremendously beautiful in his eyes.

And seeing her dressed in a pair of tight riding pants, which accentuated her perfectly rounded behind, with her ample bosoms protruding through the thick overcoat she was wearing, started to stir familiar feelings in his groin that had become rather frequent since Lynwen's arrival in his life. The longing he had been feeling in his heart for her moments before, was now beginning to be felt in his breeches, as he continued to look at her desirable body. And he knew it was time to leave when he felt the material of his breeches straining from his growing desire, and so he quickly turned away from the practice field and walked away into the thicket of trees, climbing up into the branches of an old oak, hoping to remain hidden from anyone in his embarrassing predicament.

He had never experienced sex, himself, deciding long ago that he wanted to wait for the right person. But even with his sexual ignorance, his animal instincts dictated to him clearly in his mind, what sort of intimate experiences he could be encountering with Lynwen. He hated this affect that she had over his mind, over his heart, and now, his body. The hold that she had over him was enough to drive him mad, and he hated that the self-control that he had always prided himself on, was slowly slipping away. And these deep feelings that he had developed for Lynwen over the past number of months, brought upon conflicting emotions that he had to endure physically, each day; hurt and longing, care and dislike, pain and pleasure...

He absently reached down into the waistband of his breeches, firmly gripping his hard member in the palm of his hand as he closed his eyes and leant his head back against the trunk of the tree. Pleasuring himself outside the privacy of his sleeping quarters, was not something that he made a habit of. But this was what Lynwen was doing to him! Just watching her, stirred these animalistic emotions within him, and there was no way he could walk back to his chambers without risking being seen by someone, with a blatant hard-on! And so, relieving himself here and now, was the only option he had.

And after a few breathy moans, followed by a feral grunt, Legolas quickly lifted his top to expose his bare chest, allowing his essence to land on his stomach, as he stroked himself one last time.

After allowing himself a few moments to regain his breath and gather his thoughts, Legolas looked down at his bare torso, immediately hating himself for his weakness. He prided himself on being a true gentleman, with nothing but respect for the opposite sex. But sitting out here, pleasuring himself while thinking of Lynwen, made him feel like a sleazy, dirty perv.

But he just couldn't help it, she truly had a firm grip of his emotions in the palm of her hand. And she didn't even know it.

xxx

"Ah, yes... just take it a bit deeper." Daeron breathed, his hands keeping a firm grip of the elleth's hair, guiding her head to where he wanted it to be. The sound of the elleth gagging told him that she had swallowed him to his desired depth. "That's it, just hold it there." He whispered as his hands firmly held her head in place. He tilted his head back as he closed his eyes, relishing in the warmth of her mouth, and the tightness of her throat. By the Valar, it felt amazing to be enveloped like this, and he wasn't sure for how much longer he would be able to last.

Daeron, as he often did, wondered how it would feel to be deeply buried within Lynwen's throat, with those full pink lips firmly wrapped around his length. Would she choke on it, like this elleth was doing right now, or would she be able to withstand it? He wondered if she'd ever taken Elrohir like this? But knowing that arrogant Rivendell wanker like he did, he was 99% certain that Lynwen would have carried out this sex-act before, for Elrohir would have forced it upon her somehow, no doubt using his infamous charms and making her think that it was her idea.

"Ah, yes..." Daeron gasped. Just thinking of Lynwen carrying out this act on himself, was making him reach his climax a lot faster than usual. He desperately needed to know how it felt to be inside her, and he wanted her to know what he tasted like. Hell, he wanted to know what _she _tasted like!

Daeron immediately stood up a little straighter, pushing the elleth from her knees to land on her behind. He leaned over her now, his hands guiding her head at a faster speed, as he spilled deep within her throat, his low groans filling the small pantry that they were in.

After a few moments, the elleth pulled back and looked up at the black-haired prince with a smile on her face. "I hope that I have managed to please you, your highness." She said in her smooth angelic voice, as she wiped the corners of her mouth.

Daeron opened his eyes and looked down at the elleth at his feet. "Aye, that you did." He said in a whisper. "But you may get back to your work now." He signalled towards the kitchen with his head, as he proceeded to button up his breeches. "Oh, and dinner smells great, by the way." He said flippantly, before he turned and left the pantry, leaving the elleth on the floor.

Daeron had only returned from business in Laketown and Lothlórien, last night, after being absent from the realm for over three months. He had been informed about Lynwen's encounter in the depths of Mirkwood forest, and was glad to see that she was now well enough to be present at the dinner table. And for the first time in a number of months, he, his father, his brother and Lynwen were all present at the dinner table together.

But what he found strange, was the awkward way in which his brother and Lynwen were sitting beside each other, both of them seeming incredibly uncomfortable being within close proximity to each other. From his seat directly opposite, he had a perfect view of their interactions, or lack of, rather. Both made a conscious effort to avoid eye contact, and to engage in as little talk as possible.

Hearing about how Legolas had risked his own life and gone out and rescued her on that day four months previous, had made him think that the two of them would have formed some sort of a friendship at least. But what he saw in front of him, was the complete opposite.

"I'm glad to see you up and about, Lynwen." Daeron said to her across the table.

"Aye, me too." Thranduil said rather unsympathetically.

Lynwen looked up from her plate. "Thank you Daeron. It was quite a trying time for me, but I'm feeling much better now." She quickly responded, before setting her knife and fork on her plate. She sensed Legolas was about to address her as well, and so she interrupted before he had a chance to begin.

"Please, do excuse me." Lynwen said, as she stood from her chair, turning from the table before leaving the dining room.

Legolas just watched her walk away over his shoulder, wishing more than anything that he could make things right between them. He solemnly turned back around to face the table and caught his brother staring at him. It was most uncomfortable when Daeron stared at him like this, as he usually only did it when he knew something.

"What an odd girl." Thranduil said to no one in particular.

But no one acknowledged his comment, as the two brothers continued to stare each other down.

Legolas was the first to break the uncomfortable eye-contact before he quickly stood up from the table. "Please excuse me, too. I believe I've had quite enough for tonight." He said, catching Daeron's knowing stare one last time, before he turned and exited from the dining room.

"What on Earth has gotten into those two?" Thranduil turned his attention towards his eldest son.

But Daeron kept his gaze fixed on the door that Legolas and Lynwen had just exited from as he answered his father. "I have no idea, ada." He said before turning to look at Thranduil. "Perhaps it is the wine." Daeron said in jest, trying to lighten the solemn mood and to refrain his father from suspecting anything. But he just couldn't help but glance back at the dining room door one last time with the utmost curiosity.

xxx

Training with Meldiron continued on as usual, but instead of the bow, he decided to teach Lynwen the art of the long knives. Battling with the twin blades was a trait that had become associated with the Mirkwood elves, and it was a fighting technique that Meldiron liked to use.

He had been training Lynwen with the blades for a week now, and already she was showing signs of promising abilities. She had speed and quick wit, which were both useful at dodging and blocking his continuous attacks, and she had a hidden strength that was not obvious to see when you looked at her small frame. Her own blows were hard and forceful, with some of them even taking the older elf by surprise, with one of her attacks even knocking his own blades out of his hands.

It had been a tough decision at first, but just seeing how Lynwen seemed so natural with the weapons, he was glad that he had decided to give the knives to her. The knives had once belonged to his daughter, well over two thousand years ago. Meldiron had had them especially made for her, wanting to ensure that she would be able to protect herself whenever he couldn't be around. He had trained her as well, and like Lynwen, she had picked up the skill very quickly, and ended up being a very talented individual with those blades.

Meldiron sighed heavily now, at the memories of his beloved daughter. Oh, how he missed her so much. There wasn't a day that went by where he didn't think of her. And having Lynwen here, only fuelled his thoughts even more, for the Rivendell girl standing before him, reminded him so much of his daughter.

"What are you sighing about? Did I do something wrong?" Lynwen asked him, instantly waking him from his thoughts.

He re-focused his stare back onto her while smiling affectionately. "No Lynwen, you've done nothing wrong. In fact, I was just thinking about how pleasantly surprised I am at how well you're doing with these blades. I definitely think that they should be your weapon of choice!" He said enthusiastically.

Lynwen looked down at the long knives in her hands, admiring the intricate engravings winding up the white handles, which continued onto the slightly curved blades. '_To keep you safe, when I cannot' _the Sindarin engravings read.

"Did your daughter ever have to use these... like, for real?" Lynwen asked as she looked back up to Meldiron.

Meldiron shook his head. "Thankfully, no. She had lived a fairly quiet life, with a husband who would have died protecting her."

Then a thought suddenly came to Lynwen. "Did she have any children?"

But Meldiron only shook his head again. "Unfortunately, my daughter and her husband were never blessed with a child." He replied quietly. "So there were no grandchildren, or great grandchildren. The line ended with my daughter." He said rather solemnly. "So it's just me!" He suddenly said with a shrug of his shoulders and a forced smile on his face, where he desperately tried to lighten the mood.

Lynwen looked down at the knives again and began to aimlessly run her finger over the detail in the inscription. "They truly are beautiful, Meldiron. And I feel honoured that you would choose to give them to me now."

Meldiron took a step towards Lynwen, bringing up his arm to rest his hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up at him. "I can think of no one else whom I think is more deserving." He said with a heart-warming smile. "I know that you will take great care of them, and if, like the inscription says, that they can keep you safe when I cannot, then giving them to you is one of the best decisions I have ever made."

Lynwen suddenly felt a lump in her throat at hearing Meldiron's affectionate words. It felt wonderful to know that there was someone in this world who cared for her wellbeing, and she just felt the sudden urge to start crying. But she wouldn't. She swallowed hard, desperately trying to force the tears that threatened, away, and instead, embraced Meldiron in a warm hug, burying her face in his chest.

"Thank you, Meldiron. That means a lot to me." She managed to say.

Meldiron didn't respond verbally, but only leant down to place a feather light kiss on the top of her head as he returned the hug, holding her tightly to him.

It was like the two of them had managed to fill some of the empty spaces in their lives when they had found each other five months previous, with their relationship only becoming stronger over that time. For Meldiron, he felt as though he had a family again, with Lynwen helping to fill the empty void that had been created when his daughter had died. And for Lynwen, Meldiron had become the father figure that she so deeply craved in her life.

They both felt so content to have each other in their lives now, both finding some sort of comfort that they'd at least have each other in this lonely world, if all else would fail.

xxx

Later that evening Daeron was making his way through the gardens, counting the upper windows that overlooked the grounds, where he was trying to determine which one belonged to Lynwen's bedroom. He had already been to her bedroom door, but his knocks had gone unanswered, and frustratingly for him, he discovered that the door had been bolted from the inside. So he knew that she was in there, and he was determined to see her. After seeing her at dinner this evening, and the way that she had been licking at her fork, he knew that tonight needed to be the night where he'd finally take her.

After determining which window was hers, Daeron slipped the bottle of Dorwinion wine and the two chalices into the waistband of his breeches, and proceeded to climb up the vines that covered the walls. As he reached Lynwen's balcony, he effortlessly leapt over the rail, coming to land silently on the ground outside the glass doors. He reached out to the handle and was delighted to discover that the doors were not locked. He quietly slid them open and entered the dark room. With his elven eyesight, he could see that Lynwen was lying on her bed, staring up in the direction of the ceiling.

"Lynwen?" Daeron quietly called out to her.

Lynwen immediately jumped up from fright, instantly reaching out for her knives which were next to her bed.

"Whoa, it's just me Lynwen." Daeron held up his hands in surrender.

Lynwen squinted her eyes to try and see in the dark, and could just make out the dark outline of Daeron standing at the foot of her bed. She quickly struck a match and lit the candle next to her bed.

"What are you doing here?" She asked in a shocked tone. "And... how did you get in?" She asked as she looked toward her bedroom door, seeing that it was still firmly bolted.

Daeron, still holding up his hands, slowly started to walk towards her. "I climbed up to your balcony." He responded calmly.

Lynwen immediately stormed towards her bedroom door and unbolted it, but before she had a chance to open the door, Daeron had come up behind her, firmly planting his hand on the door's surface, preventing her from opening it.

"Lynwen, I'm not here to hurt you." He said coolly, still keeping his hand firmly placed on the door.

Lynwen turned her head to look up at him, her face clearly showing the wariness she was feeling. "So why are you here?"

Daeron looked into her eyes with nothing but sincerity flashing in his. "I'm worried about you, Lynwen. We haven't actually talked since I came back from Lothlórien, and I'm still deeply concerned about your terrible encounter with the orcs." He said, as he continued to hold her gaze.

Lynwen instantly stiffened at the reminder of that encounter, wishing that she could just forget about it. But, still, her dreams continued to be plagued by that horrible event. "Well, I appreciate your concern, Daeron, but I would much prefer to be alone right now."

"Oh, come Lynwen. All I'm asking is for some time to get to know you better. Even after all these months of you living here, I still feel as if we don't really know each other."

After seeing her hesitate, before it looked like she was about to protest again, he quickly interrupted. "Please. I have even brought a bottle of my father's best wine." He said, as he held up the bottle and two chalices.

Lynwen looked at him for a few moments, not knowing how she was going to be able to dismiss him. She decided that the best thing to do would be to pacify him for a little while, before sending him on his way.

"Ok, fine. I suppose a cupful won't hurt." She said as she signalled towards her bed.

A couple of hours later, and Lynwen was dramatically flailing her arms up and down, dropping her hands into her lap with a heavy force and a deep sigh. "I just thought that he loved me." She slurred with a melodramatic tone in her voice, her eyes glazed over with the bucket load of tears that were about to spill at any moment.

Daeron's plan had only been to get Lynwen a little tipsy, but he clearly hadn't given enough thought to the fact that she was still only an eighteen year old human, with obviously no immunity to the strong wine from Dorwinion. She was absolutely wasted! But it was too late now, he just had to try and work with what he had.

He reached out his hand from his position on the bed next to her, and gently placed it upon her cheek, forcing her to look at him.

"Forget about Elrohir, Lynwen." He said with his smooth voice, as his deep blue eyes, skilfully captured hers in his hold. "He must be a complete idiot to not come for you." He started to tenderly brush his fingertips on the side of her face, seeing her getting more and more lost in his capturing gaze. "I just don't understand how any ellon could not come for anyone as beautiful as you." He seductively breathed against her lips, which were now just a hair's breadth from his own.

But just as he was about to close the distance between them, Lynwen suddenly sat bolt upright, her brows heavily furrowed. "Don't call him an idiot!" She scolded, as she firmly planted the tip of her index finger into his chest. She sat there swaying for a couple of seconds before she firmly re-planted her index finger into his chest again. "You're an idiot!" She said rather loudly, before she unexpectedly broke out into fits of laughter.

Daeron just stared wide-eyed at her, not sure of what to do next. He really didn't plan on getting her this drunk! But maybe it was a good thing, he thought to himself. She had very nearly kissed him just a few moments ago, he reminded himself, pleased that his well practiced powers of seduction seemed to work on Lynwen. And he knew that she was always going to be a tough cookie to crack, what with her obvious devotion to Elrohir. So maybe this amount of alcohol was necessary to break her.

He reached out to caress her cheek again, which instantly stopped her incessant laughter, as she turned her head to look at him. Her eyes were swimming! But not from her earlier unshed tears, but from the fact that she was so smashed!

He locked her gaze with his again, allowing her to fall deeply into his seductive stare. His hand moved from her cheek to gently glide his fingers through her unbound hair, with his palm coming to rest at the side of her head.

"You're so beautiful, Lynwen." He said in a hoarse whisper, as he leant his face towards hers. "You truly are the most beautiful creature I have ever laid eyes upon." He whispered, before he gently captured her lips with his.

Lynwen moaned into his mouth, instantly feeling her insides ignite at his tender touch. There was no denying that Daeron was one of the most handsome ellyn that she had ever laid eyes upon, and as soon as she felt his tongue enter her mouth, she instantly responded by placing her hands on the back of his head, deepening their kiss.

Daeron shifted his body slightly now, so that he was able to gently lower her onto her back. He hovered above her now, with his hands supporting his weight as he continued to caress her tongue with his own. He was surprised by how enthusiastically Lynwen was responding to his kisses, as she hungrily began gliding her hands up and down his back, with her soft moans vibrating in his mouth.

Lynwen had thought that the room had turned up side down when Daeron had lowered her down onto the bed. It seemed that closing her eyes had been a big mistake, for as soon as she had, she instantly felt like her chambers were spinning, and she desperately wanted to get off this merry-go-round before she threw up. But she just couldn't get enough of the mouth that was on hers, as she eagerly explored it with her tongue. She was instantly reminded of her intimate moments shared with Elrohir, and at how he used to glide his hand down the side of her body before sensually pushing up her shirt to reveal her bare chest. Pretty much like the hand that was doing it to her right now.

She instinctively spread her legs open, allowing Elrohir to get closer to the area that she needed him the most, moaning loudly as she felt his member beginning to harden between her thighs. She had waited so long for this moment, and she reflexively arched her back as she felt Elrohir grab a hold of her left breast, lightly grazing her erect nipple with his thumb.

"Oh, Ro." She moaned. "Where have you been? I've missed you so much." She panted, as she run her fingers through his long black mane.

Daeron immediately pulled back from the heated kiss to look down at her. "What did you call me?" He asked with a creased brow. "Lynwen, it's me, Daeron." He reminded her, but had instantly felt the effects of being called by his rival's name, and his elf-hood immediately went limp as a consequence.

Lynwen's eyes flew open at hearing this, and she looked up at Daeron still hovering above her. In her panic, she placed her hands on his chest and attempted to push him away.

Daeron, in his own panic at his plan to take her tonight, now being ruined, defiantly remained in his position on top of her, despite the strength behind her pushing. "Shh, Lynwen." He consoled with a calm voice, in his desperation to keep his plan from falling apart. "It's ok, I don't mind. You can call me what you want." He said flippantly, before he quickly leant back down and captured her lips with his again.

Lynwen began to squirm under him, as she continued to try to push him off of her. How drunk was she?! She had honestly believed that she had been with Elrohir just moments ago, but now the cold reality of the situation had managed to sober her, somewhat.

"Daeron, no!" She managed to say by turning her head away from his kissing.

But Daeron didn't listen. He lowered himself down on top of her completely now, crushing her with his body, and preventing her from moving, as he continued to forcefully kiss her. And Lynwen started to panic when she felt his hand aggressively take a hold of her breast again. All she could do was continue to squirm, and moan in protest, as his vigorous kissing prevented her from speaking her objection to this.

And then suddenly, Daeron was gone. In her drunken stupor, it took Lynwen a few seconds to notice that Meldiron was present in the room, and another couple of seconds to realise that he had Daeron pinned up against the wall by pressing his forearm into the prince's throat. She watched in horror as Daeron was slowly being choked, as Meldiron pushed his forearm into his neck even more. She had never seen Meldiron like this before. His usually friendly and inviting expression, was now stern and threatening, with his kind eyes looking tremendously terrifying, as he continued to crush Daeron's windpipe.

"Meldiron, stop!" Lynwen staggered up off the bed, quickly readjusting her clothes in the process. "Meldiron, please!" She said as she grabbed a hold of his arm, desperately trying to pull him away.

And after a few seconds, Meldiron finally released Daeron, causing the prince to fall to his knees as he urgently started gasping for air.

"Lynwen, are you alright?" Meldiron asked, completely snubbing the Royal at his feet.

"Yes, I'm fine." She replied, as she looked down at Daeron with concern. He was now coughing greatly as he held onto his throat, clearly trying to regain himself.

Meldiron turned his attention back to the black-haired prince on the floor. "Next time, I won't be so courteous." Meldiron snarled down at him. "Next time, I won't let go." He warned.

Daeron eventually managed to stand himself up, but was still breathing rather heavily where he was trying to regulate his breathing. He looked Meldiron squarely in the eye, as he straightened himself up. "I should have you hung for treason." Daeron threatened as he squared up to the older elf in front of him.

But Meldiron only gave a snort in response. "And you should be hung for sexual harassment." Meldiron retaliated. "You are powerless, Daeron, and your threats are empty. But just to be clear, _your highness, _my threats are not so empty, and if you ever touch her again, I will kill you." Meldiron coolly said, his voice cold and sharp, as his dangerous stare bored into the eldest prince.

Daeron took a step towards Meldiron, his face now just a few centimetres from the older elf, as he stared into his ancient eyes. "You'll be sorry for this, Meldiron. I promise you that." Daeron threatened with a calm and chilling voice. He continued to stare at the older elf for a few more moments, with his dangerous promise engraved into his terrifying eyes, before he slowly turned from Meldiron and Lynwen, and walked out of the chambers without a backward glance at the pair.

And Meldiron knew that that last threat from the prince, wasn't an empty one, and that he could only wait to see what Daeron would do.

**Things are really picking up in the Mirkwood camp now :) Just want to say a huge thanks to all the followers, favouriters, and people who are reading this story! And as always, please let me know what you think, even if it's just to say that it's shit. But if you do say it's shit, please tell me why, so I can improve :) Thanks!**


	21. A Climb to Emotional Beauty

_**Hi all! Sorry it's taken a while to update, but December was so busy with Christmas and travelling. But I'm back now, and I can't wait to continue reading all of your fanfics, either. I have so many tabs open on my tablet where I'm engrossed in so many of your fanfics, all at the same time! :)**_

_**I also just want to thank the 'guest' reviewer on here for the lovely review, as I can't PM you. Thanks! :)**_

Chapter 21 - A Climb to Emotional Beauty

Breakfast the following morning was extremely awkward. Lynwen very nearly decided not to attend, but determined that it would be for the best to face Daeron as soon as possible, knowing that she wouldn't be able to avoid him forever.

Daeron didn't look up from his plate once, and didn't acknowledge Lynwen at all throughout the meal. But it wasn't through embarrassment that he avoided any interaction with her, but just through sheer anger. He was still seething by the way Meldiron had attacked him the night before, and wanted nothing more than to disembowel that interfering old get!

Thranduil, as usual, seemed unaware of his offspring's peculiar behaviour as he continued to speak to his eldest son about business matters in Laketown. But Daeron's unusually pensive mood didn't escape Legolas' notice, and neither did Lynwen's incredibly uncomfortable demeanour as she continued to shift uneasily in her chair beside him.

Lynwen, as always, was the first to excuse herself from the table, followed very shortly by Thranduil, leaving only the two brothers alone in the dining room.

Daeron was still staring at his plate, aimlessly pushing the remainder of his food around with his fork, his eyes shining with fury.

"What's up?" Legolas asked him from across the table.

Daeron raised his head to look at his younger brother, but didn't say anything.

"Are you ok?" Legolas asked him again.

But Daeron just snorted at his brother's question. "Don't pretend like you care, Legolas."

Legolas furrowed his brow in a mixture of confusion and hurt. "I do care, Daeron." Legolas retaliated defensively.

But Daeron only snorted again in response while rolling his eyes at his younger brother's sympathy.

Legolas studied him for a few moments, thinking about his and Lynwen's strange behaviour during the breakfast meal. Was he just being paranoid, or had something transpired between those two to have caused their strange behaviour this morning? Knowing his brother and his womanizer ways as well as he did, he silently prayed that Daeron hadn't bedded Lynwen the night before. Just the thought of it pained his chest, and made his gut wretch. No, please don't let it be that. Not Lynwen, he silently begged. Legolas readied himself as best as he could by taking a deep breath, as he hesitantly spoke again.

"Is it something to do with Lynwen?" Legolas asked, holding his breath as he tried to prepare himself for what Daeron might say, hoping more than anything that his suspicions about the two of them were incorrect.

Daeron immediately straightened up in a defensive stance, his eyes suddenly wide and panicked. "Why? What has she said?!"

Legolas felt his heart skip a beat at his brother's reaction. Was his worst fear about his brother, and the girl who dominated his mind constantly, true? "She hasn't said anything." Legolas responded calmly, causing his elder brother to relax his posture, somewhat. "But _you _just did." Legolas said after a few moments of silence, which caused his older brother to look back up at him with panic in his eyes.

"Oh, just piss off Legolas!" Daeron eventually said, as he stood from his chair. "You're just as bad as that silly old bastard, Meldiron." He said, before he stormed from the dining room, leaving Legolas sat there alone in utter confusion.

Meldiron? Legolas was sure that Daeron's strange behaviour had had something to do with Lynwen. So what did Meldiron have to do with anything?

It had been a week since Legolas had arrived back from his mission on the outskirts of Dol Guldur, and as yet, he still hadn't engaged in any sort of a conversation with Lynwen. They still hadn't spoken since that morning, seven weeks earlier, when he had stormed out of her chambers, leaving their, somewhat shaky, relationship hanging by an even thinner thread.

And just seeing the obvious way that his brother and Lynwen had clearly felt incredibly uncomfortable by being in the same room together during breakfast, told him that something must have gone on between those two, which only filled him with an overwhelming sense of jealousy and fury.

A part of him wished he could just not care if he never uttered another word to the Rivendell girl ever again, finally ending this constant, endless torture on his mind and emotions every time he saw, or even just thought about her!

But a much bigger part of him wished he could not only make things right between them, but that he could embrace her in a fearsome and passionate kiss, allowing their bodies to meld together into one, finally relieving the constant ache and longing he always felt for her.

What the hell was he thinking? Elrohir was a good friend of his, and he greatly valued his long-term friendship with the twin sons of Elrond. Just allowing these seductive thoughts about Lynwen to enter his mind, was the ultimate betrayal to Elrohir and to their close friendship.

Legolas abruptly stood up from his seat, pushing all thoughts about Lynwen, Elrohir, Daeron, and anyone else who was threatening his sanity, firmly out of his mind, before he exited the dining room and went in search of Horthien.

xxx

Early that afternoon, Lynwen was sat in the mending rooms, after finally returning to work that morning. As per usual, the elleths in her workplace only spoke to her when absolutely necessary, leaving Lynwen alone in a secluded corner, which only resulted in her being left alone with her thoughts.

She felt sick to her stomach about what had nearly transpired between her and Daeron last night, feeling complete and utter guilt that she had very nearly cheated on Elrohir, even though she had been completely unaware of what was going on at the time, in her drunken state.

Then her guilt turned to anger. Anger at Daeron, for it was now very obvious that he had planned to get her drunk last night, before he would have then, very happily, taken advantage of her in her, almost, comatose state of mind.

But she also felt a little anger towards Meldiron too, and the way that he had handled the situation. Had he now just made the situation a thousand times worse by attacking Daeron like that?

And thinking back to Daeron's threat to Meldiron before he had exited her chambers, made her think that the eldest prince was probably someone not to be messed with.

But then, neither was Meldiron! she thought, as she vividly remembered the unsettling sounds of Daeron choking.

She was still really shocked by Meldiron's brutish behaviour last night, never before having ever seen him look and act so deadly, which instantly threw her back to the memory of how the usually calm, Elladan, had attacked Éomer almost a year ago, which had also shocked her deeply.

Had she lived such a sheltered life, that she could be so shocked by these elves, whom she knew were infamous warriors, suddenly showing their wild side and attacking someone that they saw as a threat?

After living here for the past five months, and witnessing both a brutal killing and a very near murder of a fellow kin member, it was now very apparent to Lynwen that Elrond had indeed, tried very hard to protect her from all the woes that appeared to be a natural part of this world, by keeping her locked up within the safety of Rivendell her whole life.

So, savagely killing orcs, threatening fellow citizens with their lives, facing attacks from giant spiders, and Eru only knew what else; was this real life? Was this what Elrond had been keeping her hidden away from all these years? Was this the life that Elrohir, Elladan and Estel had always lived whenever they weren't at home in Rivendell? Did the three of them think nothing of simply ending someone else's life?

She knew that her siblings were warriors, but had never really truly understood the meaning of that word before she had seen Legolas, Horthien, and now Meldiron, in action. So, were her brothers murderers, too?

The thought of her dear siblings being so violent towards another being, sent shivers down her spine. But not because the image of someone being mutilated disturbed her, but because she had now finally realised that her brothers were also the cold-blooded killers that she had been fearing so much from the Mirkwood elves.

She sighed to herself now, wondering how she could have been so naive her whole life. This was reality! People killed each other in order to survive, and it was as simple as that! She knew that she needed to get her act together, and sharpish, if she was also going to survive in this brutal world. Yeah, she almost got raped by a pack of orcs, but that was nothing compared to what those orcs then had to endure when Legolas and Horthien had so painfully ended their lives, she thought to herself.

She took a deep, refreshing breath, feeling a sudden surge of satisfaction that she was now going to take a charge of her life, finally understanding what this world was really about, and how she needed to harden up if she was ever going to survive it alone. Because she was alone now, she thought, and would continue to be, until Elrohir came for her.

She stood up from her chair suddenly, realising that she was due a break and knowing exactly how she was going to spend that next hour. She had conflicts to mend, and bridges to re-build, and she was going to start fixing them right away.

xxx

Legolas was sat in a secluded corner of one of the wooded gardens, on the southern surround of the Halls. He was tilting his head up towards the sky, with the tops of the tall trees of Mirkwood, as usual, obscuring his view. He had his eyes closed and was deeply inhaling the very early stirrings of spring. It was his favourite time of year, watching all the plants and animals coming back to life after the cold and emptiness of winter.

So far, today had been a beautiful day with not a single cloud in the sky, with the sun shining brightly all day long, casting millions of shadows of the newly growing leaves from the surrounding woodland, as it's glorious rays shone through the canopy of the thick forest.

He had spent the morning with his good friend, Horthien, sparring on the practice field, and relishing in the rush he always got when he battled with his twin blades. It was also a great way of relieving his anger and frustration which he had been feeling after the breakfast meal that morning.

But Horthien had had to report to the head of his regiment this afternoon to convey his findings from his recent patrol, leaving Legolas to spend some quiet time alone in his favourite part of the gardens.

He was sat on an intricately carved stone bench amongst the thick, lush greens, of the healthy part of the woodland in which his father's Halls were located. It was difficult to avoid being surrounded by thick tall woodland wherever you were in his father's realm, which made most of the garden spaces, somewhat, shady and covered. But Legolas actually loved this particular area of the gardens because it was even more secluded than the rest of the grounds. The stone bench was not only hidden amongst the ancient trees of Mirkwood forest, but was also secreted amongst some tall bushes, making it an incredibly quiet, and serenely peaceful area where Legolas would often go to, to meditate his mind.

The only sounds that could be heard right now was that of the few birds that were beginning to nest at the tops of the giant trees leering above him, with the rich smells of the soil and plantation, pleasantly invading his senses.

Even though he was so lost in the serenity of the moment, he heard the faint approach of footsteps scrunching on the grass. But not sensing any sort of a threat in the approaching person, he didn't bother to look to see who it was, and instead, kept his eyes closed with his head tilted up to the foliage-covered sky, relishing in the mild heat emanating from the late-winter sun.

After the approaching person had reached the bench, and hovered above him for a few seconds, he sensed them finally deciding to take a seat next to him after a few moments of hesitation, and could clearly sense the unease in their persona as they sat rather rigid next to him.

"I'm sorry."

Legolas immediately opened his eyes at the recognition of Lynwen's voice. He slowly tilted his head back down and turned to look at her sitting beside him.

She was looking down at her fidgeting hands in her lap, taking a few deep breaths where she was trying to build up the courage to speak again.

"You didn't deserve my ill-treatment and constant snubbing towards you." She eventually said, before bringing her head up to meet his gaze. "You never did." She concluded as she looked at him with nothing but sincerity in her eyes.

Legolas just remained silent, still feeling a little taken aback by her unexpected appearance. After seven weeks since their, already dodgy, relations were left on bad terms, and seeing the way that she still continued to avoid any interaction with him, he had never expected that Lynwen would ever talk to him again, never mind that she was now the one making the apology!

But after allowing a number of moments to compose himself, while looking at how the deep blue eyes that haunted his dreams on a nightly basis, were silently pleading for his forgiveness, only caused him to break out into a heart-warming smile. "Apology accepted." He said with an acknowledging nod of his head.

Lynwen also smiled widely after this, her demeanour instantly relaxing as she exhaled a long breath of relief. She reached out her hand and innocently placed it upon his knee while looking him directly in the eye. "Thank you." She said with seriousness in her voice. "I didn't expect you to be so forgiving. And to be honest, I wouldn't have blamed you if you had never wanted to bother with me again."

Legolas tried so hard to remain passive and to not show his discomfort at Lynwen's touch on his leg, as he kept his gaze firmly fixed on her eyes and not on the hand that was still resting upon his knee.

"It's ok Lynwen, all is forgotten..." He said with a nervous smile. But he couldn't help but wonder as to why she decided to even speak to him, let alone apologise, as he had just come to accept that she would forever hate and fear him. "...but, what made you change your mind about me?" He asked a little nervously, but more so, because of the way her fingers were still lightly grazing him.

But much to Legolas' relief, Lynwen removed her hand from his knee, and placed it at her side. "I've actually been wanting to speak to you for the past seven weeks, ever since the morning we last spoke in my chambers." She said as she looked down to her lap again. "I felt awful after you walked out, because I knew that everything you had said had been right." She said as she took a deep breath before continuing. "You have done so much for me since my arrival in Mirkwood, and you've been nothing but kind to me,..." She lifted her head up to look at him again, a slight smile now gracing her lips. "...well, apart from my first number of days here, that is." She said as she playfully nudged Legolas' shoulder with her own, her smile now a teasing grin.

Legolas laughed at this, his radiant smile lighting up his young, fair face. "Aye, I suppose I was a bit, _unapproachable_, in the beginning." He said through his small laughter.

Lynwen snorted in response. "That's putting it mildly, Legolas!" She said, as she too, began to join in his laughter.

A silence fell between them after their laughter had died down, and surprisingly, neither one of them felt awkward, as they both took a moment to enjoy the mild warmth of the sun. Legolas turned his head to look at Lynwen again, watching how she was looking up to the sky before she slowly closed her eyes and quietly inhaled the fresh air.

"Do you miss Imladris?" Legolas finally broke the silence.

Lynwen sighed heavily. "More than anything!" She said through an exhale as she opened her eyes, her head still tilted up to the sky. "Which is something I actually never thought I'd say." She said as she stared off into the distance. "I spent my whole life wondering what was outside of that place, imagining what the rest of the world would look like. You see, Elrond was very protective, and never allowed me to leave the safety of Imladris my whole life..."

Legolas couldn't help but notice that she had addressed the Lord of Rivendell as Elrond, and not as ada, but remained quiet, as he continued to listen to her.

"...well, until he brought me here, that is." She said with a snort, as her face clearly displayed the anger that she was feeling at being reminded of Elrond's betrayal.

Legolas allowed silence to fall between them again for a few moments, seeing that Lynwen probably needed a few seconds to compose her rising anger. After a few seconds of quiet, he spoke again with a sprightly voice where he tried to lighten Lynwen's solemn mood.

"I've been to Imladris myself, a few times, and it's such a beautiful place. I can see why you would miss it so much." He said.

Lynwen turned her head to look at Legolas. "Yes, it is beautiful but, to be honest, I'm not entirely sure as to why I miss it so much. You see, apart from my family, I was pretty much alone during my life there. I never had any friends, and any interaction I did have with any of the elves there, was usually just hostile. I never did fully understand why I was treated like an outsider by most of the residents there..." Lynwen trailed off, as she thought about her life spent in Rivendell. She perked up suddenly as a bright smile lit up her face. "I suppose it's not Imladris that I'm missing, but only Elrohir." She said, as she paused happily in thought for a few seconds.

Legolas wondered if he should say something during this pause, but didn't know how to respond to her obvious longing for the youngest twin son of Elrond. And he wished more than anything that her admittance of her feelings for Elrohir, didn't tear at his heart like this. But thankfully, Lynwen spoke up again, putting an end to the painful knot in his stomach.

"And the sunset!" She said suddenly. "I really miss watching the sun set beyond the horizon." She turned her attention back to Legolas now, her face showing much enthusiasm and happiness at the memory. "There was a spot on top of one of the valleys in Imladris that myself and Elrohir used to go to, to watch the sun set. It gave us a perfect view of the land beyond Imladris, allowing us to watch the sun sinking behind the hills, miles and miles in the distance, watching how it coloured the sky in a variety of colours as it did so." She said with a heartfelt sigh. "But you don't get to experience that here, as it's just so dark, dreary and awfully enclosed. I mean, I actually can't remember the last time I saw the sun without a bunch of trees obscuring my view!..." She quickly looked at Legolas with panic in her eyes after realising what she had said. "...not that that's a bad thing! I mean this realm is actually very beautiful! I didn't mean to say it's dark, or dreary, I mean it is, but not in a bad way..." Lynwen stumbled over her words as she desperately tried to back-track her insult towards Mirkwood.

But Legolas couldn't help but to laugh heartedly as he witnessed Lynwen's clumsy attempt to dig herself out of the hole that she had innocently created. "It's ok Lynwen." He said through his laughter. "I agree, Mirkwood is a lot more dark and restricted than Imladris, and you haven't offended me, I assure you."

Lynwen stopped in her lame attempt to try to undo her insulting description of Legolas' homeland, and just smiled at the blond prince, completely forgetting how infectious his laughter could be. She remembered back to her first month spent here, when hearing that beautiful sound had started to become a regular occurrence where Legolas had been attempting to befriend her.

But where she had spent the last number of months hiding away in her self-created darkness, wallowing in the unfortunate events that she had had to endure, she had completely forgotten about how the sound of Legolas' laugh had instantly been able to lift her spirits, just as it was doing right now.

"I apologise." Lynwen said through her embarrassed and nervous laughter, as she coyly looked to the ground.

Legolas found it so endearing to see her face flushed a light shade of red from her embarrassment, feeling his insides twist again at the deep longing he felt for this girl, and wishing more than anything that she felt the same way about him.

But he just had to face the fact that it was never going to happen, for her feelings for Elrohir were just too strong. And for the second time that day, he felt complete and utter guilt for thinking these desirable thoughts about Lynwen, feeling that he was betraying his good friend, Elrohir, by doing so.

But he just couldn't help it. He had tried so hard to deny it to himself for months now, hoping that if he ignored these emotions for long enough, that it would all eventually fade away.

But looking at her at this very moment, nervously tucking her unruly hair behind her ears, and her cheeks flushed a beautiful pink colour from her embarrassment, he knew that he couldn't run away from these feelings anymore. He couldn't run away from these feelings anymore, because at that very moment, he finally accepted the fact that he loved her.

Legolas quickly composed himself, hoping that he was doing a good job of not making his feelings seem obvious. "No need to apologise." He quickly said, before suddenly re-directing the conversation. "How come you are not training with Meldiron today?"

Lynwen seemed to stiffen slightly at Legolas' question, suddenly looking rather uncomfortable. "Oh, he came to my chambers last night to tell me that he's been called out on urgent patrol, meaning he'll be gone for the next few weeks."

Legolas wondered why Meldiron going to her chambers to inform her of his urgent patrol, would cause her to seem so uncomfortable. Then he remembered his brother's comment at breakfast that morning before he had stormed out of the dining room. Daeron had said something about Meldiron before his abrupt exit. It seemed obvious to Legolas that something had happened between his brother and Lynwen the night before, but did it also involve Meldiron? But before he could question it, Lynwen continued to speak again.

"And so, I decided that today was as good a day as any, to finally return to work." She said as she turned her head to face Legolas. "And I probably should be getting back, actually." She said as she stood up from the bench. "Thanks again, Legolas, for being so understanding. And I hope that we can be friends?" She asked hopefully.

Legolas smiled at her request. "Of course." He said, instantly feeling his heart filling with warmth at the idea that a friendship could possibly develop between them now. "I would really like that." He concluded happily.

Lynwen smiled as she shyly looked down at the ground. "Very well." She said before she looked up at him again, still holding the genuine smile on her face. "Well, I'd better be going..." She said as she turned from him and started to walk away.

"Lynwen?" Legolas called after her, causing her to stop in her tracks and turn back around to face him.

Legolas stood up from the bench, but remained in the same spot. "Are you able to get out of work a little early today? Say, around an hour before sundown?"

Lynwen frowned slightly at his peculiar question. "I suppose so." She said a little hesitantly. "But, why?"

"There is somewhere that I would like to take you... if you will accompany me?" He asked hopefully.

Lynwen just continued to look at him for a few moments, studying his kind smile, and the sincerity shining in his ice-blue eyes. She wondered where he could possibly be thinking to take her to. But instead of feeling caution at his sudden and strange request, she felt nothing but ease at his offer, somehow knowing that no harm would come to her in Legolas' company.

"Ok." She said with an intrigued smile. "Where shall I find you?"

"I'll be waiting here for you." Legolas replied, his own smile showing his sudden excitement.

Lynwen looked to the ground again, for some reason feeling a little embarrassed at Legolas' offer to take her somewhere. But a bigger part of her was just intrigued. "Ok, until later, then." Lynwen said as she turned again and started to walk away, throwing Legolas one last curious glance over her shoulder, while still smiling at him curiously.

xxx

Lynwen had never sewed so fast in her entire life! She finished off her jobs at record speed, wanting to make sure that she finished her work as early as possible, just as Legolas had requested. She'd spent the rest of the afternoon wondering what it was that Legolas had in store, trying to imagine where in this dark and depressing realm, that he could possibly want to take her to.

And as soon as the parts of the blue skies that she could see outside the window, began to dim, she threw on her thick woollen cloak and darted out of the mending rooms, heading straight for the gardens where Legolas said he'd be waiting.

Legolas had returned to the stone bench he'd been sat on earlier, and waited patiently for Lynwen to arrive. After hearing her talk about Imladris earlier, had instantly made him think of a particular location not too far from here, that he hoped would make her happy.

And with his elven hearing, he heard Lynwen approaching long before he saw her appear around the curve of the gardens that surrounded the southern base of his father's halls, and he swiftly stood up from his sitting position to greet her.

"So where are you taking me to?" Lynwen asked him with a nervous, but curious smirk on her face.

"Not too far from here." Legolas responded, as he looked upwards at their surroundings. "But we must move quick." He said as he looked back at her, his eyes flashing with excitement. "Follow me." And with that, he took off into the woodland at a jog.

Around five minutes later, and Lynwen was already out of breath where she was desperately trying to keep up with Legolas.

"Come on, Lynwen!" Legolas shouted back over his shoulder, as he continued to dart through the thick thicket of trees, effortlessly leaping over raised roots, and ducking beneath low branches. It was obvious to Lynwen that Legolas knew this woodland inside out and back to front, as he skilfully avoided anything that could have caused him to trip, long before it had even come into view.

But Lynwen had not been so lucky, as she proceeded to stumble in her desperate attempt to keep up with the mad sprint of the blond prince. Although the Halls were set in the healthy part of Mirkwood forest, it was still very dense, and somewhat dark, making her pursuit even more difficult to navigate.

And after a couple more minutes, Legolas suddenly stopped as they reached the base of what appeared to be a very large rocky hill. A mountain, even!

"Where are we?" Lynwen asked as she stepped up behind him, grateful that they had finally stopped in their mad rush, which allowed her to try to catch her breath.

Legolas wasn't the slightest bit out of breath as he looked up at the rocky terrain, the top of it disappearing beyond the enormous trees above. "We're at the Halls." He said as a matter-of-fact, turning to face Lynwen with a smirk on his face.

Lynwen furrowed her brow in confusion. "The halls that we live in? Really?"

Legolas' smirk broke out into a huge grin at Lynwen's ignorance. "Yes, but we've just come around to the north eastern edge, meaning we're at the rear." He patted his hand onto the stone in front of them. "Behind this stone, are the inside of my father's halls." He said, as he looked up to the tops of the enormous trees leering over them. "But we must hurry, we don't have much time left." He said, as he began to ascend the rocky hillside.

"Don't have much time for what?" Lynwen called after him, immensely intrigued as to what he was talking about.

But Legolas didn't respond, and only continued to climb the hill with speed and skill.

Lynwen sighed as she watched him climb the hill, dreading that she was going to have to follow suit. This was a far cry from the valley that she used to ascend in Rivendell, with that particular one being much more of a gradual climb, while the one that she was stood at the foot of now, was far more steep, meaning she was going to have to climb it, rather that walk up it.

She reluctantly reached out and grabbed a hold of the rocky terrain, pulling herself up and using the jutting rock to place her feet, as she proceeded to follow after Legolas. Although the hill did have a gradual incline, it still required some strength to prevent a tumble.

After around ten minuets, Lynwen briefly paused in her climb, and looked down over her shoulder to the ground below, seeing that it was actually quite a steep fall if she was to accidentally lose her footing or grip. She winced at the thought, before she turned her gaze away, re-focusing on the rest of the hill above her.

Of course, Legolas didn't have any problems with his climb, as he speeded on ahead. "Come on, Lynwen, you're going to miss it!" She heard him shout back at her from somewhere up above.

"Oh yes, Legolas, you just go on ahead and leave me here to, very probably, fall to my death." Lynwen muttered under her breath in frustration, as her knee scraped a sharp piece of rock for the third time. "Bloody elves!" She mumbled irritably as she paused, and looked back over her shoulder again at the ground below which, she noticed, was now a very, very long way down.

But as she turned her head back around, she jumped from fright as she found Legolas hovering directly above her, a teasing grin upon his face and his hand held out to her.

Lynwen looked from his face to the hand that he was holding out for her to take, suddenly feeling a little reluctant of him again.

But as soon as she looked back up to his face, seeing his blue eyes shining with nothing but kindness, and a little mischievousness too, instantly made her feel relaxed in his presence. It was hard to describe the emotions that she was experiencing with him right at that moment, but the only word that she could think of to explain what she was feeling was, safe. She felt completely safe in his company, knowing for certain that Legolas would never let her fall. And seeing the sincere way in which he was looking at her now, she somehow knew that Legolas, metaphorically speaking, would never let her fall for the rest of her days.

She slowly reached up her right hand and laid it in the palm of his, watching how his fingers slowly and securely closed around hers. She looked back up to his face, seeing that his eyes were still locked on hers, as his teasing grin grew into a wide smile. "Come, we must hurry." He said, as he pulled her several feet up the rocky hillside.

After a couple more minutes of climbing, they were finally high enough to be able to push up through the highest branches of the tallest trees, freeing themselves from the dense enclosure of the forest that was now below them.

Lynwen couldn't help but be momentarily halted by the sudden gust of a cool breeze hitting her freely, the wind no longer being halted from the thickness of the woodland below her. The gust blew her unbound hair from her face, as she inhaled deeply, relishing in the sudden brightness of the fading daylight, bathing their surroundings in an uninterrupted golden light that Lynwen had missed so much these past months.

She took a moment to look up to the fading blue sky above, relishing in the endless view of the cloudless blanket that she hadn't been able to see without trees obscuring her view, for five months now. She instantly looked over her shoulder to curiously try to see what lands lay in the distance beyond the eastern borders of Mirkwood.

"Lynwen you're going to miss it!"

Legolas' voice from somewhere above, broke her from her brief reverie, and she quickly turned back around to find that Legolas had already disappeared over the crest of the hill, above. It was only a few more metres away to the top so she, begrudgingly, continued to scramble up the hillside as she painfully scraped her knee again, wishing that she could just remain in her current spot a little longer and take advantage of her temporary freedom from the claustrophobic forest below.

But as soon as she forcefully pulled herself up over the rocky crest, lethargically coming to rest on her knees on top of the Halls, her mouth instantly fell open at the incredible, and completely unexpected sight that she was met with.

Before her, was the most beautiful aerial view of western Mirkwood forest, stretching for miles upon miles into the distance, with the peaks of the awe-inspiring Misty Mountains being just about visible to her in the far distance.

And lowering itself behind the infamous snow-capped mountains that made up the horizon, was one of the things that she had missed the most.

"You said you missed watching the sun set." Legolas said from his sitting position next to her, smiling at the enthralled look on Lynwen's face.

Lynwen slowly dragged her gaze away from the sunset and let it fall upon Legolas. But she was momentarily speechless, as she just couldn't find the words to acknowledge this breathtaking moment.

"It's amazing." Lynwen finally said, barely above a whisper as she turned her gaze back to the ocean of treetops in front of her, watching the deep orange sun slowly sinking behind the Misty Mountains in the far distance.

The sky was completely cloudless, and was a mixture of oranges, pinks, and the comings of the dark navy blues that would soon envelop the entire night-time sky. It was probably the most spectacular sight that Lynwen had ever laid eyes upon, and as she slowly sat herself down on her behind to comfortably watch the endings of another day, she couldn't contain the overwhelming sense of emotions that were souring through her body. But she kept her eyes focused on the horizon ahead, not wanting the blond prince to see the tears that were starting to well up in her eyes.

Legolas continued to look at Lynwen, and he could see that she appeared to be upset. He began to wonder whether bringing her up here had been the best decision. Maybe watching the sunset brought back too many painful memories for her.

"Lynwen? Are you ok?"

Lynwen couldn't contain the huge smile that now broke out on her face, as she snuffled back her emotions.

"Yes, I'm fine." She said as she turned her head to look at him with her beaming smile. She then laughed slightly as her eyes began to water some more. "I'm more than fine! I'm immensely happy! I mean, just look at it!" She said as she gestured her arm out to the tremendous view in front of them.

Legolas smiled at her confession to being happy. It was exactly the reaction he had been hoping to get from her when he had thought to bring her up here this afternoon.

He continued to look at her, noticing the way the deep orange sun was reflecting off of her unshed tears, making her eyes sparkle, and emphasising the sheer joy that she was feeling.

Up here, high up on top of his father's halls, way above the tallest trees of Mirkwood Forest, there were no obstructions. They were completely open to the elements with no enclosures, walls, or any other type of boundary. And so, the soft wind continued to blow at them without hindrance, making Lynwen's dark brown hair flail out behind her, completely exposing her face to him. He studied how her cheek bones cast light shadows on her skin, and the way the sun's rays exaggerated the uneven skin tone on her face, emphasizing the faint brown freckles she had dotted on her nose. For him, it was the most beautiful face he had ever seen, and it was a face that still continued to haunt his dreams on a nightly basis.

So transfixed was he, in her flawed and fascinating beauty, that he found himself beginning to reach up his hand with the intent of affectionately grazing her cheek.

But luckily for him, Lynwen suddenly snorted back her emotions, making the best impression of a pig that he had ever heard in his life! But despite the immensely un-ladylike noise she had just made, he was grateful that she had woken him up out of his lust-filled daze, to which he quickly brought his hand back down by his side.

Lynwen seemed blissfully unaware of Legolas' intent to reach out to her, as she turned her gaze back out to the sun, slowly sinking behind the Misty Mountains. She brought her knees up to her chest, tightly wrapping her arms around her legs, as she continued to stare at the sunset in silence. Legolas admired her for a few more seconds, happy that he had managed to please her today, before he too turned his head and looked out to the horizon.

They both sat there in comfortable silence for the following few minutes, gazing at the setting sun in the distance, until it had disappeared behind the peaks of the Misty Mountains, leaving only an orange aura surrounding the highest tips of the infamous mountain range.

"Thank you." Lynwen quietly said to Legolas, as she continued to watch the wonderful show that nature was currently presenting to them.

Legolas turned his head to look at her beside him, unable to prevent the small smile currently lighting up his face and displaying his subtle dimples as he gazed at her. But he continued to remain silent.

Lynwen slowly turned her head to look at him, her eyes still glistening with her unshed tears. "You have no idea how much this means to me." She whispered. "This is just what I needed," She said, before leaning over and innocently placing a kiss upon his cheek. "And I thank you so much for bringing me up here." She said with sincerity in her voice after pulling back from the kiss, her face now only a few inches from his.

Legolas froze. He hadn't expected her to kiss him. Although he knew it had meant nothing on Lynwen's part, to him it was magical, and he desperately wanted to feel her soft lips upon him again. And now her face was just a hair's breadth from his, her hot breath tickling his skin with her dark blue eyes looking right into his. Her close proximity only lasted a second or two before she pulled back and returned to her upright sitting position next to him. But to him, it had felt like an age.

Again, Lynwen seemed blissfully unaware of the effect she was having on Legolas, as she brought her knees up to her chest again, leaning down to rest her chin upon her bent legs.

"You're welcome." Legolas finally said, realising that he hadn't spoken for a while. He tried very hard to disguise the fact that he was a little flustered from Lynwen's kiss, as he nervously clasped his hands together in his lap, while looking out to the darkening horizon before them. "I can bring you up here anytime you want, Lynwen. You need only ask." He said as he looked down to his feet, unable to make eye contact with her.

Lynwen turned her head to look at Legolas, her head still resting upon her knees. She remained silent for a few moments as she studied the blond ellon sat next to her. He was nervously looking down to the ground, as he firmly wrapped his arms around his knees where he seemed to be trying to keep his hands from fidgeting. And his ears were a bright shade of pink, matching the colour that had suddenly appeared on his cheeks. He seemed embarrassed. Even a little uncomfortable, Lynwen thought to herself. But she wasn't sure as to why. Even so, she couldn't help but think as to how sweet Legolas looked at this moment, realising that he was actually a caring and considerate being, and not believing that she hadn't realised this fact about the Mirkwood prince before now.

"I'm sorry." Lynwen finally said after a few moments of silence, causing Legolas' head to snap in her direction, his face holding some confusion.

"I know I already apologised to you earlier today, but I really am so sorry for the way I treated you over the past number of months." She said as she lifted her head up from her knees. "It's just that... I've never seen anyone being killed before, and..."

"I'm the one who's sorry." Legolas interrupted her, as his ice-blue eyes looked at her with concern. He sighed deeply while his gaze remained fixed on her. "I said it at the time, and I'll say it again. I never should have subjected you to that slaying, Lynwen." He shifted his body now as he turned to face her fully, his eyes boring into hers, showing nothing but sincerity and concern. "And I'll do everything in my power to ensure that you will never have to witness anything like that again." He said with his smooth voice sounding confident and defiant. "I promise you that."

Lynwen smiled at his words, feeling completely content in his company. She knew that no words were necessary to respond to his promise, knowing that her warm smile was enough to acknowledge his statement, as she watched Legolas flash her his own warm smile.

After a few moments, Legolas broke the eye contact. "We'd better be heading back." He said after looking up to the darkening sky.

But Lynwen placed her hand on his arm, stopping him from making a move. "Can't we stay here a while longer? I've really missed watching the stars like this." She said as she leant back on her elbows and looked up to the navy sky. A large grin then appeared on her face after a few moments, before she turned her gaze towards Legolas, her eyes flashing with enthusiasm. "And let's see who can spot the most shooting stars!" She suggested excitedly, as she remembered back to when her and Elrohir used to do the very same thing.

Legolas chuckled at her eagerness. "Very well." He said, as he reclined back into a lying position, comfortably placing his hands behind his head. "But I'll have you know that I'm the master at this game!" He said with a smug smile upon his face, his voice displaying his mocking arrogance.

Lynwen snorted defiantly. "We'll just see about that!" She playfully retaliated, as she too, laid down next to him, both of them staring up at the blackening night sky.

xxx

Over the course of the next two weeks, a friendship was indeed developing between Legolas and Lynwen, as they continued to meet up in their spare time, with each meeting lessening their awkwardness and unease about each other, more and more.

They would spend their meetings hanging out in the gardens or sitting up in the branches of the trees of the woodland, and of course, at Lynwen's new favourite place; on top of the Halls, where they would watch the sunset, or star gaze, or both!

Their newfound blossoming friendship didn't go at all unnoticed by Daeron, who witnessed their developing relationship from across the dining table each day. They had gone from seemingly avoiding each other like The Plague, to chewing each other's ears off with their incessant chatter. And all in only a matter of weeks.

Daeron was still seething about that unfortunate event in Lynwen's bedroom a couple of weeks previous, and was thankful that he hadn't run into Meldiron since that night. But not because he would be embarrassed if he ever saw the older elf again, but because he feared what he might do to Meldiron if he ever encountered him again. He wanted to cause great discomfort to that ancient ellon for interfering and undermining him like that, and secretly vowed that he would get his revenge soon enough.

Legolas and Lynwen, suddenly bursting into laughter, pulled Daeron out of his thoughts. He looked at the pair up ahead, standing at the top of the corridor where his and Legolas' chambers were housed and wondered, not only as to what could be _that _hysterical, but also as to what they were doing here? There was nothing up here apart from the princes chambers, so why was Lynwen here? Had Legolas finally manned up and taken a girl to his bed? But Daeron quickly dismissed that idea, for he was certain that his younger brother would continue to be a boring old frigid for a while longer, yet.

Their growing friendship both intrigued, and annoyed Daeron. Had they gotten so close now, that they were hanging out in Legolas' chambers? The same chambers that Daeron was certain had never seen a single female enter through its doors in the last five hundred plus years?

He quickly leant against the walls of the corridor, hiding in the shadows so as the pair remained unaware of his presence. He watched as they talked to each other with great ease, smiles spread across both of their faces where they were obviously still reliving that 'tremendously hysterical' moment from seconds before.

Daeron was a little peeved that he hadn't been able to 'conquer' Lynwen in the bedroom department, but had just concluded to himself, especially after that fiasco with Meldiron, that she just wasn't worth the effort. Not that he'd ever turn her down if the opportunity ever arose, mind you.

Daeron knew deep down, that his desire to take Lynwen to his bed had been a mixture of curiosity, and a need to shit all over Elrohir's ego. And it had been frustrating for Daeron that he hadn't been successful in either.

But seeing his younger brother now, getting his forearm gently stroked by Lynwen's fingers, stirred an immense fury within him. Why would she rather be with his prudish younger brother who wouldn't have the first clue on how to locate her g-spot even if he was armed with a detailed map and a torch, when she could have someone far more experienced, like himself? Someone who would make her come over and over again all night long, until she thought she would pass out? It just didn't make any sense to him.

"Ok, I'll see you in a few days."

Lynwen's voice brought him back to the moment as he watched her farewell his younger brother, before turning in his own direction and beginning her walk away from the princes chambers. He watched, utterly intrigued, by the way Legolas was staring after Lynwen walking away from him, as if his younger brother was in some sort of a trance. But the blond prince eventually dragged his hazy stare away from Lynwen before he finally turned from the corridor and entered his chambers.

Daeron quickly emerged from the shadows and began walking in the direction that Lynwen was coming from, hoping that it looked like he had only just arrived in the corridor, and had not been spying on the pair.

Lynwen's happy expression immediately dropped when she saw the elder prince heading in her direction. Although she'd seen him at meals since that horrible incident, she hadn't actually been alone with him since that night, and panic instantly set in as to how she was going to deal with this inevitable encounter. But she decided to just swallow her unease, and simply address him, getting this awkwardness out of the way once and for all. She had, after all, decided a couple of weeks previous that she was going to take control of her life by mending conflicts and re-building bridges.

She took a deep breath. "Good evening, Daeron." Lynwen said as the black-haired prince became level with her.

But Daeron simply ignored her, brushing past her and making her stumble slightly in the process, as he just continued in his brisk walk towards his chambers.

"Daeron?" Lynwen called after him.

Daeron seemed to acknowledge her after this, finally coming to a standstill, but remained stood still with his back to her. He remained like this for a number of seconds, making Lynwen wonder what he was contemplating. But before she could ponder any further, Daeron slowly turned around to face her but remained silent as he only proceeded to stare at her, his expression looking bitter and angry.

"Daeron... I..." Lynwen stumbled over her words, feeling a little intimidated by the unfriendly way in which he was looking at her. "I'm sorry for what happened." She finally said in a quiet voice, as she looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to respond.

But Daeron continued to remain silent, his unsettling stare unnerving Lynwen greatly, as his hands were clenched tightly into fists at his sides.

Lynwen swallowed her unease of the dark ellon before her, as she took a deep breath to steady her nerves, slowly taking a few steps towards him. "Daeron, I don't want it to be awkward between us..."

"Well you should have thought about that before you set your minder onto me!" Daeron interrupted her with a slightly raised voice, his blue eyes burning with fury.

Lynwen remained in stunned silence for a few seconds, before being able to finally gather herself again. "Daeron... I don't condone Meldiron's actions towards you..."

Daeron snorted at her words, a look of resentment etched into his face. Lynwen just sighed a little, in a mixture of frustration and slight nervousness, before continuing.

"... My memory of that evening is rather hazy." Lynwen said as she looked past Daeron, staring into empty space as she thought back to that night. "But I'll never forget that horrible sense of feeling like the earth was spinning, and dragging me along for the ride." She took a deep breath where she tried to refrain from throwing up at the unpleasant memory. She looked up at Daeron now, meeting his gaze. She felt a slight surge of bravery as she looked into the older prince's eyes, and decided to just say what was on her mind. "Surely it was obvious to you how drunk I was? I can't help but feel that you took advantage of my intoxicated state of mind..."

"You were a willing party!" Daeron interrupted her, defensively. "I never forced you to do anything!" His eyes narrowed now as he looked at her, with his voice dropping to a lower and calmer level. "And from what I recall, Lynwen, you seemed to be enjoying every bit of it." He sneered, his eyes just mere slits. "Every moan, every gasp, the way you spread your legs wide open for me; all of it was you encouraging me to go further..."

Daeron stepped closer to her, his tall body towering over her short frame as he reached up and subtly stroked her bare collarbone with the tips of his fingers, loving how she always seemed to wear her over-sized shirts with the top few buttons undone. He leant forward until his mouth was brushing against her earlobe, his hot breath uncomfortably heating her skin. "...All of it, was your doing, Lynwen." He said in a whisper.

Lynwen pulled back and just continued to look at Daeron, unsure of how to respond. He did have a point. She had been enjoying it. But that was before the cold reality of the situation had hit her. Did Daeron have every right to be angry at her? Had she spurred him on, and encouraged him to go further? Had she taken him to the point of no return, where it had just been plain cruel of her to have expected him to stop?

As the two continued to stare at the other, each waiting for the other to speak first, neither of them had noticed the person who had just bore witness to Daeron's last words spoken.

Legolas remained hidden in the shadows of his bedroom doorway, watching the pair further on down the corridor, and listening to his brother's lewd description of Lynwen's actions. So his suspicions had been correct? His brother and Lynwen had slept together...

Legolas couldn't bear to listen to any more, fearing that hearing any further details of Lynwen and Daeron's intimate affair, would only result in the breaking of his newly loved-up heart. He silently, but hastily, re-entered his bed chambers and closed the door behind him.

He leant back against the wall of his room as he stared into the space in front of him, desperately trying to steady his out-of-control breathing. He was greatly hurt by what he had just overheard, but also extremely pissed off that his brother had seemingly been intimate with Lynwen; the very girl who he now knew that he loved more than life itself. She was now the reason he got up every day. The reason he felt himself smiling more often. She was even the reason he bothered to breath!

What was he going to do? He was madly in love with a girl who could never be his. And he knew that he would always detest the person whom would lucky enough to get close to her. And at the moment, that person was Daeron, his very own brother! But soon enough, he knew that his detest would turn back to his close friend Elrohir, knowing deep down that soon enough, Lynwen would be with the Rivendell ellon again.

Legolas took a deep breath and closed his eyes, hoping that the calming intake of air would help to clear his mind. But as soon as he opened his eyes, his unsettled emotions took charge of his body once again, painfully filling his heart with the utmost, deepest love, for Lynwen, but also agonisingly jamming his head with hatred and pure rage. A hatred and pure rage which was currently aimed at Daeron and Elrohir, but would also be aimed at whomever else could end up with Lynwen in the future.

Legolas brought up his arms and slowly dragged the palms of his hands down the length of his face before continuing to stare into the space in front of him, panic at his uncontrollable desire to cause pain to any male who dared to get close to Lynwen, set deeply within his ice-blue eyes.

Legolas slid down the wall, coming to a sitting position on the floor, as he rested his forearms on his bent-up knees. He hated the way these alien emotions were threatening his usually serene and composed personality, but he just couldn't help it. He loved her. And with that, came the animalistic instinct to claim her as his own. To ward off any other male who dared to enter his territory.

But the problem was, was that Lynwen was not his to claim. He had no right to be jealous, and that what she chose to get up to, and with whom, was entirely her business, and definitely not his. He knew this. And he also knew that he desperately needed to swallow down these feral instincts to want to bond with Lynwen in the most passionate and loving way, and to cause extreme harm to anyone else who dared to get in his way.

He continued to stare into empty space, wondering how he was going to be able to switch off these powerful emotions that dictated his train of thoughts, and tore up his heart constantly. But he knew it was necessary to try to keep a firm control of these emotions in order to maintain his relationship with his brother and his good friend from Rivendell. But he knew for definite that this wasn't going to be an easy task.

He sighed deeply while tilting his head and resting his forehead on his arms, burying his face in-between his knees. He was in deep shit, and he knew it.

_**As always, please review and let me know what you think! Thanks! :)**_


	22. A Painful Reminder of Caladwen

_This is just in response to DeLacus' question about why Legolas seems to be treated as a minor by Thranduil and Daeron: Beriadan talks briefly about it in Chapter 15, as does Elrond, a little, in Chapter 16. But apart from that, I haven't gone into too much detail. Until now! As this chapter delves into Thranduil's relationship with his sons, a little bit more!_

**Ok, just a heads up that this chapter contains some strong language, and a couple of sexually explicit descriptions.**

Chapter 22 - A Painful Reminder of Caladwen

Legolas was sat upon the branch of a tree out on the borders of his father's realm, gently swinging his legs back and forth. His head was resting against the trunk of the tree as he stared into the endless overgrowth of entwined branches in front of him.

He'd been out here on patrol for the past two days, but so far things had been quiet, which was fortunate for him because he didn't think he'd have been able to concentrate on battling orcs or spiders while his mind was still on Lynwen. Still on those words spoken by his brother. Those lewd words that he couldn't stop repeating in his head. The words that described how Lynwen moaned, gasped, and spread her legs wide open for Daeron...

Legolas sat up straight and shook his head, hoping that that would get rid of those horrid words from his head. But it didn't work. All he could picture was the two of them together. Together in a way that he could only hope for, when it came to his desires about Lynwen.

"What ails you Legolas?"

Legolas looked to his left to see Meldiron climbing up onto the branch that he was sat upon.

Meldiron sat himself down next to Legolas with a big sigh. "Ahh, it's good to be off my feet." Meldiron said as he brought his right foot up to his left knee, pulling his boot off before gently massaging his toes. "We may be immortal, but the aches still continue to come with old age." He said with a chuckle.

Legolas only smiled at the older ellon before turning his attention back to the dense woodland in front of them.

"So?"

Legolas turned his head to look at Meldiron again, a confused expression upon his face.

Meldiron looked at Legolas expectantly for a few moments, but realised rather quickly that the blond prince had no idea what was going on. "I asked you what was ailing you." Meldiron gently reminded Legolas of his earlier question. "So, I'll ask again. What ails you Legolas?"

Legolas couldn't help but to smile at Meldiron. He was such a wonderful ellon, who had always been such a big part of Legolas' life. It had been Meldiron who had trained Legolas with the bow hundreds of years previous, which was now, by far, Legolas' weapon of choice. Legolas knew that his own superior skills with the bow would never have surpassed, had it not been for Meldiron's excellent teaching.

And being such a big part of Legolas' life, meant that Meldiron always knew when something was troubling the young prince.

"Nothing." Legolas replied a little too quickly, as he looked down toward the ground, knowing he'd never be able to hide anything from Meldiron.

Meldiron remained silent for a moment, studying the solemn look on the prince's face. "Well, it doesn't look like 'nothing', to me."

Legolas smirked as he looked up at the ancient ellon beside him. Meldiron always knew him so well, always having the ability to be able to see right through his pretences. Sometimes, Legolas thought that Meldiron knew him better than his own father did.

Legolas took a deep breath. "I'm not sure that I want to talk about it."

Meldiron knew that look. It was a look that he had sported himself, a couple of thousand years ago when he had gotten to know his -soon to be- wife. It was a look that always seemed to don the face of an elf whom had given their heart and soul to someone, unconditionally. Regardless of whether it had been by choice or not.

"Why don't you just tell her how you feel, Legolas?"

Legolas' eyes grew wide at hearing Meldiron's words. "What... who are you talking about?" He couldn't hide the panic in his voice. Did Meldiron know about his feelings for Lynwen?

Meldiron sighed heavily while looking Legolas directly in the eyes. "Legolas, you can't fool me. I've seen the change in you ever since her arrival in our realm." Meldiron said with sincerity in his voice, feeling such sympathy for the young prince beside him. He'd experienced these intense feelings of longing himself, and knew just how painful they could be. "You don't know what her answer will be until you ask her, Legolas."

"I _do _know!" Legolas replied quickly, and maybe sounding a bit more agitated than he had intended. He sighed heavily now while reaching up to rub the back of his neck. "Her heart belongs to someone else, Meldiron. I just have to accept that."

Meldiron continued to study Legolas for a few moments, seeing the young ellon's obvious pain. But there was even a bit of anger, etched into his fair face. "Legolas, it's not just Lynwen's love for Elrohir, is it? I know there's something else bothering you."

Legolas looked up at the older ellon, knowing that the agony that was eating up his insides was clearly evident in his eyes. But even though his emotions were evidently on show to Meldiron, he still didn't know how to put what was on his mind, into words.

"I overheard something that I wish I hadn't." Legolas eventually said after taking a deep breath. "A conversation between my brother and Lynwen."

"What did you hear?" Meldiron narrowed his eyes with intrigue.

Legolas began to nervously swing his legs back and forth as they dangled above the ground, his brow heavily furrowed as he stared at his fidgeting hands in his lap.

"My brother said... well... I can't bring myself to repeat what he said, but..." Legolas turned his head to look at Meldiron. "They had been intimate together. My brother and Lynwen. I heard Daeron speak of it." Legolas couldn't hide the despair in his eyes. "I believe it happened around two weeks ago. I had my suspicions when I saw their behaviour at breakfast the morning after, but now..."

"When did you say this happened, Legolas?" Meldiron interrupted.

"Two weeks ago. I remember that it was the morning that Lynwen returned to work." Legolas remembered back to his and Lynwen's conversation in the garden that same afternoon. "I remember she told me that you had gone to her chambers that night to tell her that you had been called out on urgent patrol..." Legolas trailed off as he recalled his and Lynwen's conversation.

Meldiron sighed heavily, causing Legolas to look back up at the older ellon.

"Legolas. I know of what you overheard between your brother and Lynwen, but let me assure you that nothing _intimate _happened between them that night."

Legolas' eyes widened slightly in a mixture of surprise and confusion. "How do you know?"

Meldiron sighed again, wondering if he should tell Legolas about what occurred that night in Lynwen's bedroom. Daeron was Legolas' brother after all, and Meldiron wasn't sure if it would be appropriate to tell the younger prince that his older brother was a potential rapist.

"Meldiron, if you know something then please tell me!"

Legolas' raised voice brought Meldiron out of his thoughts. He just looked at Legolas in silence for a few moments, clearly seeing the despair in the prince's eyes. Should he tell Legolas the truth? Or just allow him to continue thinking the worst? But then what Daeron attempted to do with Lynwen was pretty bad, too. Did Meldiron want to be responsible for potentially changing the way Legolas would look at his own brother from now on? And knowing how strongly Legolas felt for Lynwen, would the truth of what really happened then cause Legolas to seek some sort of vengeance upon the eldest prince?

"Meldiron, please." Legolas quietly spoke, his voice pleading. "These thoughts are tearing me up inside. Please tell me what really happened!"

Meldiron drew a deep long breath, hesitating for a few seconds before finally speaking. "Legolas, I'm not sure I should be telling you what happened that night. Daeron is your brother after all, and I'm not sure it is my place..."

"Tell me!" Legolas pleaded, his desperation to know the truth, etched deeply into his ice-blue eyes.

Meldiron rubbed the palm of his hand across his forehead with unease, before bringing it around to rub the back of his head. Seeing the pain that Legolas was going through, made Meldiron decide that he'd at least tell Legolas the bare minimum of what happened that night. The rest, Legolas could just discover for himself. He took a deep breath to ready himself for what he was about to say.

"That night, your brother got Lynwen drunk on Dorwinion wine." Meldiron turned to look at Legolas before taking another deep breath. "She was completely and utterly intoxicated, and your brother... well..." Meldiron wondered how to finish his sentence. "...Let's just say that I arrived in the nick of time to be able to stop him."

Legolas instantly straightened up his posture, his jaw was clenching and his eyes were alight with fury. He'd witnessed his brother using alcohol as a seduction technique, a couple of times in the past. But the thought that he had tried to take advantage of Lynwen like that, made Legolas' blood boil with anger.

His desperate need to protect Lynwen, was dictating the utter fury that he was experiencing right now, and he couldn't prevent his hands from clenching into fists. His own brother had gotten Lynwen drunk on purpose so that he could then take advantage of her? His beautiful Lynwen?

Legolas remained silent for a while as he desperately tried to stifle his rage. "How was she afterwards? Was she ok?" Legolas asked in a disturbingly calm and steely voice, as his deadly stare bored into the trees in front of them.

"Aye. After she threw up all over by feet,..." Meldiron said with a smirk, "I put her to bed where she then slept soundly."

Legolas only nodded at Meldiron's words, but continued to remain silent as he proceeded to stew in his feelings of resentment towards his brother. He wasn't sure now, if knowing the truth was better than the suspicions he had originally had about the pair.

Although Legolas had never really been overly close to Daeron, he was still his brother. They shared the blood of their parents, and had both been borne by the most wonderful elleth that Legolas had ever known. That alone, created a deep connection between the brothers.

But Legolas wasn't sure if that connection was now enough to sustain a courteous relationship between himself and Daeron, anymore. Not after this. His feeling of resentment towards his brother was now even more proof of the overwhelmingly powerful feelings of love he held for Lynwen. The fact that all he could think about at this particular moment, was beating the living shit out of Daeron, _his very own brother_, only confirmed at just how madly in love he was with the lonely girl from Rivendell, and at how much he wanted, and _needed_, to protect her.

"Are you ok?" Meldiron asked, as he placed his hand upon Legolas' shoulder.

Legolas turned his head to face the older ellon, making an effort to put a smile on his face. "Yes, I'm fine. I appreciate you telling me the truth." He said, still with his fake smile lethargically spread across his face.

But inside, Legolas wasn't smiling. Inside, he was raging. His patrol was due to end tomorrow, and he was counting down the minutes. He just needed to get back to Lynwen. But he also needed to have a little talk with his brother.

xxx

The following evening, Legolas was walking through his father's halls with intention. His strides were long and fast, and destined for only one purpose; to find Daeron.

A good twenty four hours had passed since his conversation with Meldiron, but Legolas' rage hadn't subsided in the slightest. Gone was his usually calm persona, along with his ability to just accept the fact that he was second best to his older brother. Daeron needed to learn, once and for all, that he was not better than himself, nor was he better than anyone else for that matter. And in no way could Legolas allow him to get away with his ill treatment towards Lynwen.

Legolas abruptly halted at a crossroads of walkways, trying to decide which one would likely lead him to his brother. His chest was rapidly rising up and down in fury, as his fists clenched even tighter at his sides, when a small pair of hands were unexpectedly, but gently, placed over his eyes from behind.

"Guess who?" The most beautiful voice Legolas had ever heard, asked him in a teasing manner.

Legolas closed his eyes and inhaled deeply as he took a moment to inhale Lynwen's wondrous scent. Just feeling her soft hands splayed across his eyes, warmed his heart in the most magnificent way.

He couldn't contain the grin that crept along his face as he reached up his arms, gently taking a hold of her hands in his own before he slowly pulled them away from his face. He let go of her left hand before turning around to face her, still keeping a grip of her right hand. His heart soared even more after seeing the gleaming expression upon her face. She was smiling widely with the dim light of the Halls, somehow, managing to make her blue eyes sparkle.

"How was the patrol?" She asked happily.

Legolas couldn't help but to feel a tremendous amount of guilt suddenly. Guilt that he hadn't, but should've been there to protect her. This wonderful girl who had already been through so much heartache in her young life, then having to endure even more distress at the hands of his very own brother, made him feel like shit. He felt that not only did Lynwen deserve an eternity of happiness, but that he, himself, owed it to her. And he would very happily spend the rest of her life ensuring that she was always content, and well protected.

Legolas hadn't realised that his grip on Lynwen's hand had become tighter, nor that his grin was gone, and was replaced with a heavily furrowed brow.

"Ow, Legolas. You're kind of crushing my bones, here." Lynwen said with a nervous smile, as she tried to pull her hand away from his vice-like grip.

Legolas snapped out of his thoughts, immediately looking down to their hands. "I'm sorry, Lynwen." He said quickly as he released her hand, allowing it to fall to her side.

Legolas quickly stepped forward, closing the gap between them as he reached up his hands, placing them at either side of Lynwen's head. "Are you ok? How have you been while I've been out on patrol?" He asked her with extreme concern etched into his ice-blue eyes.

Lynwen just looked up at him with confusion. "Yes... I've been fine." She answered a little nervously as she looked at his hands out of the corner of her eyes. "Are _you _ok?" She asked after bringing her eyes back to his.

Legolas dropped his hands from the sides of her head before taking a hold of her right hand in the both of his, a warm smile now spread across his face. "I am now." He answered with genuineness in his voice, as he looked down to their entwined fingers.

"Good evening, brother!"

Legolas felt Lynwen stiffen slightly at hearing Daeron's voice. It was only slight, but he felt it through her hand, all the same. He turned around to face Daeron, finding himself instinctively standing a protective stance in front of Lynwen, shielding her with his body.

Daeron looked curiously at the peculiar way in which his younger brother was standing, almost like he was squaring up to him. And the murderous glare in Legolas' eyes was unmistakable.

Legolas broke the eye-contact with Daeron for a brief moment to look over his shoulder at Lynwen. "Lynwen, I'll catch up with you later." He said with a low steely voice, as he remained rooted to his spot.

It was very obvious to Lynwen that Legolas' curt words to her, was her cue to make a swift exit. And she intended to make that swift exit, pronto! The atmosphere had turned extremely cold and unnerving, and Lynwen felt as though she could cut it with a knife. Legolas had turned his head back around to face Daeron, and the two brothers continued to stare each other out in silence, obviously waiting for her to leave. And leave she did!

"Um, ok. I'll catch up with you later." She said nervously, as she turned around and made a quick getaway in the opposite direction to the inevitable confrontation.

Legolas looked over his shoulder again to make sure that Lynwen was nowhere in sight, before he turned back around, gripping a hold of his brother's shirt in his fists and pushing him back in to the wall, taking Daeron completely by surprise.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, Legolas?"

Legolas' grip on Daeron's shirt became tighter as the younger prince gritted his teeth. "I've always known you were a prick, Daeron, but this time you've gone too far. This time, you've fucked around with the wrong girl." Legolas snarled.

Daeron immediately gripped a hold of Legolas' clenched fists, flinging them off of his shirt as he stood up straighter. His face was now showing the rage that he was feeling at his younger brother's attack, his blue eyes brewing a dark stormy colour.

"I don't know what your problem is, but touch me like that again, Legolas, and I'll beat the fucking shit out of you" Daeron warned.

Legolas stepped right up to his brother, their foreheads almost touching, as he stared menacingly into Daeron's eyes. "I'd like to see you try!"

Daeron immediately pushed on Legolas' chest, hard, making the younger prince stumble back a few steps. But Legolas quickly righted himself and charged at his older brother, landing a punch right on Daeron's jaw. But it took no more than a second for Daeron to retaliate, also taking a swing and punching Legolas across his cheek bone.

And within seconds, the two princes were on the floor, both trying to best the other in strength and wit as they fought relentlessly, skilfully landing hard and painful punches on each other.

They hadn't realised that their wild ruckus had attracted the attention of a few bystanders who were beginning to gather around the fight, watching on in shock as their royals proceeded to kill each other.

But the bystanders soon made a swift exit from the scene when a tall, blond ellon, just oozing authority and grandeur, pushed through the crowd and gripped a hold of the princes' collars, dragging them both to their feet.

"Enough!" Thranduil's deep booming voice echoed around the cavern, as his grip on the brothers tightened.

Thranduil released his hold and shoved his two sons forward down the corridor. "My throne room. Now."

The two brothers were panting profusely as they continued to stand rooted to the spot, both staring lethal daggers at each other, blood dripping from their few cuts and scrapes.

"I said, now!" Thranduil boomed, his dominating voice vibrating off the walls around them.

And after one last moment of staring each other down, the brothers reluctantly turned in the direction of the throne room and started a slow walk to their father's quarters, with Thranduil following right behind.

Once the three had entered the grand throne room, Thranduil slammed the door shut behind them, before coming to a stand in front of his two sons. Thranduil's tall lithe frame, towered over his children as his terrifying eyes bored into the two of them, while the princes just looked down at the floor.

"Well, is anyone going to tell me what could have caused my two sons to act like a couple of ruffians in public!?" Thranduil's loud intimidating voice, demanded.

Daeron looked at his younger brother out of the corner of his eye, his lips curled up into a snarl as he stared daggers into the younger prince. "You will have to ask Legolas that, ada." Daeron seethed through gritted teeth. "For he attacked me with no warning. I acted only in self defence."

Legolas' jaw was tensed and he was breathing hard through his nose as his teeth were clenched tightly together. But he continued to look down at the ground, not being able to trust himself to look at Daeron, for he feared what he might do to the eldest prince if he made eye-contact with him.

Thranduil looked to his youngest son, not only seeing, but also feeling the distress and anger radiating off of him. Thranduil was completely bewildered by Legolas' obvious fury as he watched him continue to breath hard through his nostrils, and still refusing to make eye-contact with himself or Daeron. It was as though his young son was as unpredictable as any volcano at that moment, knowing that he was going to erupt in undeniable rage and heated fury, but not knowing exactly when!

Thranduil decided it would be best to tread with caution as he addressed him calmly. "Legolas? Is this true?"

Legolas' breathing suddenly picked up as his knuckles turned completely white from where he was clenching his fists so tightly. But he continued to stare down at the floor with wide, menacing eyes.

Daeron's face screwed up in confusion as he turned his head fully to look at Legolas, before he then glanced at his father. "What the hell is he doing?"

Thranduil didn't acknowledge Daeron, and instead continued to look at Legolas with concern. He'd never seen his youngest son like this before. Legolas was usually a fairly calm ellon, who only ever acted violent against orcs and spiders, but never with his own kin. And never towards his own brother!

"Legolas? Answer me." Thranduil pushed gently.

Legolas looked up from the floor slightly and made eye-contact with his father, but couldn't hide the angry tears that were currently glazing his eyes. But he still remained silent, as his out-of-control breathing only escalated in short purposeful pants through his nose.

Daeron just frowned at his brother's peculiar behaviour, as he kept glancing toward his father, wondering if he was going to acknowledge the fact that his youngest son had obviously lost the plot!

But Thranduil only took a slow step towards Legolas, gently resting his hand upon the young ellon's shoulder, as he held his youngest son's gaze with sincerity.

Daeron just watched the odd interaction between his father and brother with utter confusion. Were they _both _losing the plot? Was he the only one who thought that Legolas' weird deep-breathing-thing was greatly unnerving, and extremely bizarre? Was he the only sane person in this room, right now?!

"Speak to me Legolas." Thranduil's soft voice broke the silence, urging his son to confide in him.

Daeron watched on in complete bewilderment as Legolas _still _continued to remain silent! "He's lost it, I'm telling you! Just look at him! That's not normal behaviour. And neither..."

"Silence Daeron!" Thranduil shouted as he stared ruthlessly at his eldest son for a second, before turning his gaze back to Legolas.

"Well it _isn't _normal!" Daeron argued. "And he attacked me for no reason..."

"It wasn't for no reason." Legolas quietly, but steely, cut in.

Daeron turned to look at Legolas now, seeing that his brother was now looking directly at him.

"I told you why I was pissed off." Legolas coldly, but quietly spoke, his eyes gleaming with loathing and disgust, as they continued to pierce into Daeron's being.

"No you didn't!" Daeron retaliated loudly. "All you said was something weird about me 'fucking around with the wrong girl', and that..."

Daeron stopped talking as realisation hit him. Lynwen. Legolas was referring to Lynwen. He remembered back to their odd behaviour a couple of months ago at the dining table, after Daeron had returned from business in Laketown and Lothlórien. And then there was the way he'd always catch his brother looking at Lynwen, like he was lost in a dream, or something. And then there was that weird way in which he had stood in front of her just now, like he was protecting her with his body.

It all made sense to Daeron now. Legolas liked that girl from Rivendell! He couldn't contain a small laugh under his breath at the thought that his worthless, frigid of a brother, could actually be in love with the human!

Thranduil, sensing that Legolas was about to erupt after hearing Daeron's belittling laugh, and not knowing if he'd have the strength himself, to break them up if they fought again, quickly turned to face his eldest son.

"Daeron. Leave." Thranduil demanded sternly.

Daeron looked to his father in confusion, but before he had a chance to argue, Thranduil spoke again.

"Now, Daeron! I'll deal with you later."

Daeron sighed in frustration, but reluctantly turned on his heel and exited the throne room.

After watching Daeron slam the door closed behind him, Thranduil turned to face Legolas, hating the troubled look in his youngest son's watered eyes.

Ever since Caladwen, his beautiful, loving wife, had been so brutally taken from him all those years ago, Thranduil had suffered greatly. He'd been able to keep a straight-faced appearance for the sake of his kingdom, but secretly, he was dying inside. Most nights when he was alone in his bed, he'd secretly cry himself to sleep, while tightly hugging the pillow that should have been hers, flush against his chest.

The pain of losing a loved one was just excruciating, and he'd worked so hard ever since her death, trying to push away anything that reminded him of her. Even their own children. He just couldn't help it, but keeping his two sons at arms length was necessary for him to survive.

His heart was being held together by nothing but a thread as it was, and it would certainly break altogether if something bad happened to Daeron or Legolas. So he just couldn't allow himself to be the father that they both probably needed so desperately in their lives, as he just couldn't run the risk of allowing them into his heart.

And so, ever since Caladwen's death, he'd treated his sons as nothing but mere associates, careful not to let himself get too close to them, for fear of possibly having to endure another heart-breaking loss. He just wasn't strong enough for that.

With Daeron being the heir to his throne, he'd naturally taken him under his wing so as to show him the ways in which to successfully run a kingdom, teaching him everything he knew.

But with Legolas, it was a different story. Painfully for Thranduil, Legolas was the image of Caladwen, meaning his youngest son was an excruciating reminder of his beloved wife, every single day. It was just too painful to have Legolas around, and so the only use Thranduil could think of for his youngest son was for him to be out on patrol at the borders, and as far away from the palace as possible.

Thranduil looked down at Legolas now, seeing how the young prince was chewing the inside of his cheek in exactly the same way his mother used to, when she was angry about something. And Thranduil's gut twisted when Legolas lifted his head to look up at him, because for the first time since her death, Thranduil felt as if he was now standing face to face with Caladwen. Legolas was looking at him with the exact same ice-blue eyes that belonged to his mother, and were even watered with the same angry tears that had adorned her eyes, that fateful day that she had been murdered.

Thranduil felt that familiar pang of resentment as he looked at Legolas now, suddenly remembering why he was unable to get too close to his youngest son. It was just too heartbreaking to look at him, and see Caladwen staring right back at him.

Thranduil quickly straightened himself up, donning his usual harsh mask to hide his crumbling persona, behind. "Well Legolas? Is Daeron telling the truth? Did you attack him for no reason?" Thranduil asked in his typical stern voice.

Legolas looked down to the ground again, still feeling the rage towards his brother, but also wondering how he was going to explain it to his father. He couldn't possibly tell him about his feelings for Lynwen! He wasn't sure that he was all that comfortable acknowledging those feelings himself, never mind declaring them to his father! But even so, he knew his father would never understand. His father was a cold, seemingly heartless, ellon, and Legolas often wondered if he ever used to be anything, but.

Thranduil sighed heavily, tearing his stare away from his son. "Legolas, you can't go attacking Daeron whenever you're having a bad day. You're a prince, and fighting your brother in public, is not what is expected of you."

"So what is expected of me?!"

Legolas' surprising outburst startled Thranduil, causing him to look at him with wide eyes. But before he had a chance to reprimand his son for speaking out of line, Legolas spoke again.

"I mean, you never treat me like a prince! Hell, you don't even treat me like I'm a part of this family! All my life I've sat idly by, watching you favour Daeron over me. I've watched as you both belittle my inputs, or just blatantly ignore me, obviously not taking my opinions seriously. All I've ever been good for is going out onto the front line, protecting _your _kingdom with _my _life, with the occasional travel to Rivendell as a mere messenger! And now you're saying that I'm a prince!? Really!? Well it certainly doesn't feel like it!"

Thranduil was stunned, and remained silent for a few moments, before he quietly spoke. "Legolas, you don't understand..."

"Oh I understand perfectly!" Legolas interrupted his father, his eyes still watered with his unshed tears. "It's obvious that I've always been nothing but a hindrance to you." Legolas spoke quietly now, his voice croaking with the emotions that he was feeling. "You've made it quite clear that I will never be as important to you as Daeron is."

Thranduil just looked on with his mouth slightly agape, in shock. He'd never seen Legolas act this way before. And the words that his son just spoke, hurt him beyond description. Is that was Legolas thought of him? Is this what everyone thought of him?

"I think we're done here." Legolas cut Thranduil's stunned thoughts short with his quiet words, before the young prince bowed his head professionally at his father, before turning on his heel, swiftly making his way to the door.

"Legolas?"

Legolas stopped at the door, turning to face his father.

Thranduil looked at his son for a few moments, his own heartbreaking emotions, eating him up inside after hearing Legolas' emotional outburst. It killed him to think that Legolas thought this about him, but knew that he only had himself to blame. He took a deep breath as his own eyes clouded with tears of hurt. "I do love you, you know. Regardless of what you think." Thranduil quietly spoke.

Legolas only gave a breathy snort in response, before turning from his father and exiting the throne room, quietly closing the door behind him.

As Legolas walked up the corridor leading to his chambers, Daeron stepped out of the shadows, forcing him to stop.

"Just fuck off, Daeron. I don't want to see you."

Daeron gave a fake laugh while crossing his arms across his chest. "You couldn't wait to beat the shit out of me, fifteen minutes ago! But now, you don't want to see me?"

Legolas attempted to push past him, but Daeron wouldn't budge. "Seriously Daeron, you need to move out of my way." Legolas calmly threatened.

Daeron only shrugged his shoulders, but remained stood in the same spot. "Why? Don't you want to talk to me about me 'fucking around with the wrong girl'?"

Daeron was really pushing Legolas over the edge, and the blond prince knew that if he didn't get away from his brother, he might end up doing something that he might regret. "Daeron." Legolas warned with his steely voice.

"What? Around fifteen minutes ago, you wanted to make me pay for fucking around with Lynwen." Daeron said as a matter of fact.

Legolas looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Because, that's who you were referring to, wasn't it, Legolas?" Daeron asked, rather cockily.

Legolas continued to remain silent as the familiar rage began surging through his veins again. Daeron was treading on very thin ice right now, and if he didn't shut the fuck up about Lynwen, he'd have to kill him.

"You've gone awfully quiet, Legolas. What's wrong?" Daeron asked in a mocking confused tone. "I thought you wanted to talk about how that slut from Rivendell coaxed me into her bed? About how she moaned in ecstasy every time I touched her intimately?"

Legolas' vision was blurring. He'd never felt anger take a hold of him like this before. It was blinding him! He wasn't even conscious as to where he was anymore. Everything around him had disappeared, including reason.

Daeron just frowned at him, as he continued to taunt his younger brother. "Hmm, that's strange. I honestly thought that you wanted to talk to me about that Rivendell whore." Daeron said as he shrugged his shoulders. "Oh well, never mind. But I will tell you this. As much as I hate that prick, Elrohir, I'll have to shake his hand for teaching Lynwen on how to suck really good cock..."

And that was it. Legolas snapped. He was in a blind rage as he launched himself at Daeron, not caring if he ended up killing his brother there and then. And not being able to function his mind properly, with only his fury taking control of his body, Daeron soon got the upper hand, shoving Legolas back against the wall of the cavern, and pinning him firmly in place.

Legolas blinked a few times, as his vision slowly came back into focus. He was met with Daeron looking right at him, a teasing smirk upon his face. And after a few moments, Daeron suddenly started chuckling, taunting Legolas further.

"I can't believe it." Daeron said through his undermining laughter. "You really are as pathetic as I always suspected you were. You're actually in love with her, aren't you?"

Legolas straightened up, shoving Daeron's hands off of him. "Just leave her alone, Daeron." Legolas coldly warned, before he made to walk away.

But Daeron shot out his arm, stopping Legolas from walking away. How had Legolas known about what had happened that night? He was sure that Lynwen wouldn't have said anything to anyone, for he knew that that girl at least had some tact. So that left only one other person; Meldiron.

Daeron was finding his own breathing beginning to escalate out of control as his own rage was souring through his body at the thought that Meldiron had ratted him out like that.

He made eye-contact with Legolas again, seeing that his younger brother looked even more deadly and alert than he had moments before. But Daeron wasn't threatened. Legolas was merely an insect that he intended to just brush aside, and instead, was going to concentrate all of his pent-up anger on the rat, that was Meldiron.

"Tell Meldiron I said 'Hi'." Daeron simply said, as he dropped his arm, allowing Legolas room to walk away.

xxx

It was a month later, and neither Thranduil or Daeron had uttered a single word about that day to Legolas. Life just seemed to go on as normal, although he did notice that his father seemed even more distant with not just himself, but also with Daeron too, which surprised Legolas immensely. But he didn't push the issue, deciding a month ago during their heated discussion, that he was done with this family. And as soon as was possible, he was going to leave Mirkwood, taking Lynwen with him if she so desired.

It was a beautiful warm April day, and himself and Lynwen were currently at a nearby lagoon, accompanied by Horthien and his latest squeeze. The four of them had set out early that morning with nothing but a packed lunch and a supply of fresh drinking water.

The lagoon was situated about a half an hour trek from the Halls, but still within the safe boundary of the kingdom. Its waters were the deepest turquoise colour, with a twenty foot clear waterfall that poured into it from the rocky terrain above that surrounded the lagoon in a semi-circle, keeping it an almost completely secret and private haven.

The four of them were sat on the edge of the lagoon at the base of the surrounding rocks, with their bare feet dipping into the cool waters, as they chatted and laughed.

"You know, it took Legolas a good hour to build up the courage to jump off the top of that waterfall." Horthien said, as he signalled towards the wall of clear water with his head. "Or maybe it was two?" He said, as he turned to look at his best friend with a teasing grin.

They all laughed, as Legolas couldn't prevent his cheeks from turning a light shade of pink. "I know that I didn't take as long as you." Legolas shot back at Horthien, while smiling widely.

Horthien's eyes widened. "I think not, my friend! I didn't waste a single second! I dived off there without a moment's hesitation."

Legolas laughed heartedly now. "Ok Horthien, if you say so."

"It doesn't look that high." Tara, Horthien's latest fuck buddy, said, as she looked up at the waterfall.

Horthien wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. "Aye, it doesn't look that high, until you're stood at the top of it." He said, before he began playfully peppering Tara's face and neck with kisses, making her squeal as she fought to pull away.

Legolas felt the awkwardness weighing him down immediately. Suddenly, they'd gone from the four of them talking with ease, to Horthien and Tara kissing each other like fools, leaving a dead silence between himself and Lynwen. Not that he and Lynwen didn't feel comfortable with each other, because they did. Their friendship had continued to grow immensely strong, and they loved each other's company. But there was something painfully uncomfortable about a couple's kissing being the only sound that could be heard, leaving the two of you there to try and talk normally, and pretend that you both haven't noticed the intimate interaction going on beside you.

But before Legolas could try to conjure up something to say to break that horribly awkward moment, Lynwen spoke first.

"Tara's right. It's doesn't look that high." She said.

Legolas turned to face her, seeing that she was looking intently at the waterfall, seemingly oblivious to the full-on snogging session that was now going on beside them.

"How do I get up there?" She asked Legolas enthusiastically.

"Are you serious?"

"Of course I'm serious." Lynwen replied. "I want to jump off it." She said, her eyes alight with excitement.

Legolas took a moment to look at her in disbelief, before he slowly pointed to the rocks behind them. "There's a path built into the rock over there. That will take you to the top."

Lynwen stood up immediately, quickly brushing down her leggings with her hands. "Right. I'll see you soon." She said, as she quickly took off towards the path.

Legolas just remained rooted to his spot in shock, but he couldn't help his excitement at waiting to see what Lynwen would do. Horthien was right. It didn't look that high until you were actually up there. He wondered if Lynwen would chicken out once she stood at the ledge, and knew that Horthien would never let her hear the end of it if she did.

Within minutes, Lynwen appeared at the top of the waterfall, slowly walking towards the ledge with cautious steps.

Horthien and Tara had stopped snogging by this point, and all three of them looked up at Lynwen with excited smiles upon their faces.

The sound of the three of them suddenly cheering and whistling, startled Lynwen out of her terrified trance. Wow, this waterfall really was high up!

She looked down over the edge to the three below, seeing that they were laughing and cheering at her. Oh, Valar! It would be too embarrassing to back out now! She had to jump, if only for the sake of her pride. But she remained rooted to the spot.

"Lynwen! You forgot your bathing costume! Your clothes will get wet!" Tara shouted up at her.

Lynwen looked down to her leggings and tunic. Tara was right. She couldn't get her clothes wet, as she had no spare ones here. So that was it. This was the perfect excuse she needed to be able to back out, with her pride still intact.

Lynwen shrugged her shoulders in defeat, and turned back around and started her walk away from the ledge.

"I knew she'd chicken out!" She heard Horthien say from below, while the three of them continued their laughter. And at that moment, it was like something snapped inside of Lynwen. She knew she couldn't back down and be ridiculed for the rest of the day.

So she walked back towards the ledge with purpose, her re-appearance inciting new cheers from her audience below. And without a moment of hesitation, she pulled her tunic up over her head, letting it drop messily to the floor, before she quickly lowered her leggings down over her hips, and stepped out of them gracefully, now only standing there in a black breast band and a pair of black knickers.

The cheers from down below had momentarily silenced as the three of them looked up at her with shock. But it didn't take long for Horthien to let out a loud wolf whistle, startling Tara slightly, before they both began laughing and cheering again.

But Lynwen noticed that Legolas still hadn't taken his eyes off of her, his mouth still slightly agape as he continued to stare at her. His stare made her feel tremendously insecure about her current state of undress, as he seemed to be drinking all of her in, completely transfixed like he was in some sort of a trance.

So without any further hesitation, she jumped off of the waterfall, hearing the excited screams of the others before she slammed into the lagoon, below.

There was something tremendously serene about being under this water, she thought as she opened her eyes. Although the water was a turquoise colour, it was still incredibly easy to see up ahead. She took a moment to look at her surroundings, seeing that there appeared to be an underwater cave up ahead, and she wondered if she had enough oxygen left in her lungs to go and check it out.

But before she could contemplate that thought any further, a pair of strong arms encircled her from behind. She defensively spun around to see who it was, but was relieved to see that it was only Legolas.

They both, were now submerged under the water, and he was still holding her tightly to him, but his brow was heavily furrowed with worry as he looked at her. Lynwen only smiled at him, realising that she must have been under the water long enough to have made him concerned for her safety. Her smile only seemed to confuse him more as he frowned more deeply, before he began pushing himself up towards the surface, still holding Lynwen tightly to his chest. A chest, Lynwen quickly noticed, that was completely bare. He was wearing only his breeches, and nothing else!

But before Lynwen could stare any longer, they both surfaced the lagoon with a splash, with Horthien and Tara stood eagerly on the bank.

"Is she ok?" Horthien asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." Lynwen replied with a laugh, as she wrapped her arms around Legolas' neck in her attempt to stay afloat. "I wasn't under there that long!"

"Long enough to drown." Came Legolas' curt, but quiet response, that only she could hear.

Lynwen turned her head to look at him, seeing that his face was still etched with worry as he stared into her eyes.

"But I didn't drown." Lynwen quietly whispered against his lips, as she searched his face for reassurance that he wasn't angry.

But Legolas quickly turned his head away from their close proximity, and made his way back to the bank with Lynwen at his side. "I know." He quietly said after they had reached the side of the lagoon. "I just worried, that's all." He said with a nervous smile as he looked into her eyes again, still holding her body flush against his.

"Wow, Lynwen, I think you've got bigger balls than Legolas!" Horthien joked as he walked over to them.

Legolas let go of Lynwen as he placed his hands on the bank of the lagoon before pushing himself up out of the water, his dark breeches clinging to his wet skin.

Lynwen couldn't help but stare at his half naked body, realising that she'd never seen him topless before now. And as he turned back around, holding his hand out to her, her breath involuntarily hitched at the sight of his solidly chiselled abdomen, his nicely toned chest, and his subtly muscled arms. How the hell was he still single? She knew that if she wasn't madly in love with Elrohir, she'd definitely be joining that queue to date the Mirkwood Prince!

She reached up her hand to his, and allowed Legolas to pull her up out of the water, silently thanking herself that she had chosen to wear a black breast band today, which she knew wouldn't be transparent when wet!

"Nice one, Lynwen!" Horthien said as he pulled her into an embrace. He then turned his head to look at his current 'girlfriend'. "Now it's only Tara that hasn't leaped off of that thing." He said with a suggestive arch of his eyebrows.

About half an hour later, and Legolas and Lynwen were lying down on their backs next to each other, allowing the warm sun to dry them off, while Horthien and Tara playfully frolicked in the lagoon.

Lynwen leant up on her elbows so that she could see the loved-up pair, playfully splashing each other with water as they laughed heartedly. Oh, how she missed Elrohir. It had been around eight months since she had last seen him, and she could only hope that he was ok, that he was safe and sound, somewhere.

She glanced to her right when she felt Legolas' hand brushing her hair off of her right shoulder, before he softly began to caress her skin. "You're starting to burn." He said with concern, as he quickly began to fumble around on the ground behind her.

Lynwen went up into a sitting position and turned to look at what he was doing, seeing that he was picking his shirt up off the ground.

"Here, put this on." He instructed her as he held out his shirt. "And I will go and fetch your clothes from up there." He said as he gestured his head to the top of the waterfall.

Lynwen pulled his soft shirt over her head, instantly feeling comforted by the smell that lingered on the material. It was undoubtedly Legolas' scent, but it was a scent that Lynwen hadn't really taken much notice of until this very moment. Until she was completely shrouded in it.

After she had put his shirt on, quickly discovering that it was way too big for her as it covered her way past her knees, and swamped her upper body like a tent, Legolas seemed satisfied enough that she was now well protected, before he stood up and started to make his way up to the top of the waterfall to retrieve her clothes.

Lynwen grabbed a hold of the collar of his shirt and buried her face in it, closing her eyes as she relished in Legolas' masculine scent. Smelling him like this was something that she very quickly discovered, made her feel safe and secure, knowing that for the first time in her life, she had finally found a wonderful and caring person whom she could call her best friend.

xxx

Lynwen leapt up, wrapping her arms firmly around his neck as she hugged him tightly. "Meldiron! I've missed you so much!"

Meldiron laughed as he hugged Lynwen back, bringing her feet off the ground as he did so. "Aye, and I missed you too."

Lynwen brought her head back to look at him, as he lowered her back down on to the ground. "You said you'd only be gone a few weeks. That was around six or seven weeks ago!"

"I know, I apologise. But I was urgently needed for an extra mission on the southern borders."

Lynwen frowned slightly. "Why? Has something happened?"

Meldiron, not wanting to worry her, just smiled as he pushed a stray strand of hair away from her face. "No, it's nothing to worry about." He lied.

Lynwen seemed to believe him as her face lit up in excitement. "Well, now that you're back, can we pick up my training with the blades?" She asked enthusiastically.

Meldiron chuckled at her eagerness. "Of course! But right now, young lady, this old ellon needs to get some much deserved rest." He said as he released her from their hug. "How about we resume our training after you finish work tomorrow?" He suggested.

"Sounds good to me!" Lynwen replied happily, as she walked with Meldiron back to the Halls.

Later that evening, Meldiron found himself standing in attendance to a secret Border Guard meeting being held in the barracks. All the soldiers of the Mirkwood Guard who weren't out on patrol, were ordered to attend. They had been called to discuss the recent attack on the southern border of the realm, by a huge pack of orcs from the south. The attack had taken the Mirkwood elves by surprise, but after some last minute back-up, the elves had managed to slaughter the orcs, successfully winning the battle.

But it was obvious to all that this had just been a tester. A taste, even, of what was to come. Extra guards had been placed on the borders, paying particular attention to the south, as the orcs were undoubtedly coming from Dol Guldur.

The soldiers were being told to be on high alert, and to be ready to be called to battle at any given time.

Legolas had stood himself next to Meldiron at the back of the room, listening intently to the information being given to them.

"They fought very differently to the way they usually do."

Meldiron's whisper caused Legolas to look at the ancient ellon. "What do you mean?"

Meldiron turned to face Legolas, unable to hide the worry in his eyes. "The orcs. They fought like properly trained warriors, and not like the mindless idiots that we're used to fighting." Meldiron swallowed hard as he paused for a moment. "They were good, Legolas. And they were not easy to beat."

Legolas' eyes widened slightly at hearing Meldiron's unsettling words, as did Horthien's, whom had also come to stand beside Legolas, listening intently to Meldiron's description of the recent battle.

"And the next time they attack, there'll be more of them." Meldiron said gravely. "And I fear that we may not be strong enough to hold them off when that time comes."

Legolas and Horthien just continued to stare at Meldiron, both unable to think of how to respond.

Legolas looked around the room of soldiers, wondering if Mirkwood was, indeed, strong enough to hold off these orcs. Legolas had been to Dol Guldur a couple of months previous, and had reported back that there seemed to be no new threat.

How wrong had he been? How could he, and the other guards whom he had been on that mission with, miss something as huge as an enormous, massively fearsome, elf-butchering, orc army? Had they used some sort of sorcery that had concealed it from their view?

Well either way, it didn't matter now. Mirkwood was in grave danger, and needed to be defended.

But more importantly to Legolas, Lynwen needed to be protected. And he knew at that moment, that he'd very happily go out there and face these orcs in battle, sacrificing his own life, if it meant that she would remain to be safe.

He _needed _her to be safe. He just... _needed her_.

_**Please let me hear from you and all your helpful reviews! :) xx**_


	23. One Fateful Night

_**Warning: Sexual content, violence and strong language in this chapter.**_

Chapter 23 - One Fateful Night

A week later, and late one evening, Legolas and Lynwen were cuddled up together on Lynwen's bed, where they had both spent most of their evening in the darkening, candlelit bedroom together. Legolas was sitting back against the headboard, with his legs outstretched in front of him, and Lynwen was lying next to him, with her head resting on his chest.

"And the handsome, courageous prince finished off the last goblin with one fatal swoop of his sword, before charging his valiant steed towards the tower. The tower, where he knew his fair maiden was being held captive... Really? This is your favourite book?" Legolas looked down to Lynwen in bewilderment.

Lynwen chuckled while remaining unmoving. "Yes, I loved this book when I was little. Still do, actually!" She tapped his upper arm impatiently. "Keep reading!" She ordered him, lightly.

Legolas shook his head, completely baffled as to how Lynwen could find this mindless piece of shit, entertaining. But secretly, he found her awful taste in books, extremely endearing. He smirked as he turned his attention back to the book in his left hand while his right hand continued to softly stroke her hair.

"The handsome prince broke down the door with one firm kick, startling his fair maiden into a fearful swoon. The prince rushed forward, skilfully catching his soon-to-be bride before she hit the floor. He then gracefully scooped her up into his strong arms, before tossing her over his shoulder, holding her by her ankles, and exposed her bare arse to the world..."

"Legolas!" Lynwen shouted through her laughter "You're ruining it!" She exclaimed, as she reached up her hand and smacked him across the arm.

"What?" Legolas feigned surprise. "I was just making it more realistic!"

Lynwen continued laughing. "What? And exposing her bare arse makes it more realistic?"

Legolas nodded. "Yes, well, being a guy, he must have a preference when it comes to a woman. And he didn't come across as a boob or leg man to me, so I just figured that he must be an arse man." Legolas answered stoically with a shrug of his shoulders.

Lynwen couldn't help but to laugh even more. Legolas really had a special ability to make her happy, and she truly cherished their times spent together. She looked up at him from his chest, still smiling widely from her laughter. "And which are you?" She asked with a raise of her eyebrows.

Legolas looked down to meet her gaze a little panicked, suddenly finding that his joke was back-firing. He couldn't prevent his face turning red at Lynwen's personal question, as he just smiled at her nervously. "Well, I can't say I've ever really thought about it." He lied.

Lynwen immediately sat up from her lying position and turned to face him with excited intrigue. "Legolas, I know you're lying." She accused, with a smile. "So let's have it! Which are you? Arse, legs or boobs?" She asked, her eyes flashing with enthusiasm.

Legolas laughed nervously at her words as he sat up straighter, firmly closing the book with his hands. "Oh c'mon Lynwen, you can't ask me that." He coyly scooted around her question while avoiding eye-contact with her.

"Why not?"

Legolas met her stare then, his eyes still smiling, but also revealing how uncomfortable he was with this inquisition. Sure, this was something that every guy had a particular preference to, but there was something highly embarrassing about sharing this information with Lynwen.

He suddenly grinned widely after holding her gaze for a few moments, leaning into her more closely so that their faces were now a hair's-breadth away from each other.

"Eyes." He firmly concluded, with a smirk.

A dead silence fell between them for a number of seconds as they continued to stare into each others eyes before Lynwen suddenly burst into raucous laughter. "Oh, you're so full of bullshit, Legolas!" She shouted out through her hilarity.

Legolas raised is eyebrows, feigning surprise, again. "I'm serious." He said with a mocking blank expression. "Why are you laughing?"

This only made Lynwen crack-up even more, as she laid back down beside him, cuddling up against his chest again. "Ah, Legolas, you do make me laugh." She said through her waning amusement. She yawned loudly after her laughter had faded, causing Legolas to lean over and blow out the candle next to the bed.

"You need to sleep." He said quietly, as he rested back against the headboard, his fingers resuming their stroking of her hair.

"Mmm" Lynwen answered lazily. "I am really tired." She said lethargically, as she closed her eyes and deeply inhaled Legolas' comforting scent. "I love you, Legolas." She breathed through an exhausted sigh.

Legolas looked down at her, his heart skipping a beat at her declaration. But his elation soon came tumbling down at the gut-wrenching realisation that she had only meant it in friendly terms. It was purely platonic, on her part.

"I love you too, Lynwen,..." He said barely above a whisper, instantly feeling her breathing become steady, and her body relax into a deep sleep.

"...more than you will ever know." He then painfully whispered to her sleeping form.

xxx

The following morning, Lynwen slowly opened her eyes as the sun shone brightly through her window, lighting up her bed chambers in a golden, spring-time light.

A smile spread across her face at the sudden realisation that she didn't have to get up for work today. She had the next two days off! And so, she lazily stretched out her arms and legs across her bed with the intention of rolling back over, and falling back to sleep.

But during her big stretch, her hand came into contact with something on the pillow next to her head. She quickly turned to see what it was, and found that there was a folded-up piece of paper with her name written on it.

She excitedly sprang up into a sitting position to get a better look at the mystery note that was addressed to her, and was moved to see that there was also a long-stemmed flower splayed across the pillow next to it. A simple flower, with it's pale green petals in full bloom. Her favourite colour!

She picked up the flower and brought it up to her nose, inhaling its sweet scent as she began unfolding the piece of paper with her other hand.

_Happy 19th Birthday, Lynwen!_

_I know you hoped that I would forget, what with it being a 'fake birthday', an' all! But there's no way I could ignore a celebration of the birth of someone as special as you. Fake, or not._

_I hope you're free for some celebrations this evening! There's a forest feast taking place tonight, if you fancy it? And maybe we could even throw your really shit book-collection on the bonfire while we're there! I'll see you later._

_Legolas._

Lynwen smiled widely at the note. She'd only mentioned her 'fake' birthday to Legolas in passing, many weeks before. But even so, she wasn't the slightest bit surprised that Legolas had remembered it. He was good at that. Listening intently to what others had to say, and remembering certain things that you, yourself, had long forgotten about.

She dropped the hand that was holding the note, to her lap, as she brought the flower up to her nose again, closing her eyes as she got momentarily lost in its aroma.

She opened her eyes again and sighed happily as she held the note against her chest. Today was going to be a good day, she thought, as she continued grinning like a dwarf in a goldmine.

xxx

Meldiron was stood in the practice field, skilfully releasing arrow after arrow towards the targets up ahead, effortlessly hitting centre-target each time.

"Happy Birthday, my lady." He said while looking down the shaft of his arrow, releasing it seconds later.

"How do you do that?" Lynwen asked from behind him.

Meldiron turned around to face her, dropping his bow by his side. "What? Hit those targets, or hear you approaching?"

Lynwen chuckled. "Well, both, I suppose! But I was actually referring to how you heard me approaching."

Meldiron smiled widely, his warm brown eyes lighting up with that familiar teasing glint they got sometimes. "Well... and I mean this in the nicest possible way, Lynwen... but you walk with the same fervour as a cave troll."

Lynwen gasped in shock. "I do not!" She said through a smile.

But Meldiron just nodded as he smirked at her. "You do." He said, as he stomped his feet on the ground a few times. "Boom boom boom." He shouted in a loud, deep voice in time to his stomps.

Lynwen burst out laughing at his ridiculing. She could always count on Meldiron to make her laugh.

Meldiron laughed heartedly with her. "It's true Lynwen." He said in-between breaths. "I can hear you coming a mile away!"

After their laughter finally died down, Lynwen suddenly frowned at Meldiron as a thought dawned on her. "How did you know it was my birthday, anyway?" She asked, realising that she had never mentioned anything about it to him.

Meldiron just smirked and shrugged his shoulders. "Just something I heard through the grapevine."

Lynwen cocked an eyebrow at him inquisitively. "Was it Legolas?"

"Aye, it was." Meldiron said with a grin as he thought back to when Legolas had told him about it, and realising just how smitten Legolas was with this Rivendell girl.

"Listen." Meldiron said suddenly. "Since it's your birthday, how about we have a day off from training, and I just take you out for the day, instead?"

Lynwen rolled her eyes. "There's no need to make a fuss. We don't even know if today is..."

"... your real birthday?" Meldiron finished Lynwen's sentence for her. "Yes, I know, but it's the best your father had to go on." He said with a shrug as he held out his arm to her. "So? Will you accompany me, my lady, on this extremely special day?" He smiled.

Lynwen smiled too as she hooked her arm around his. "Ok, fine. But only if you don't mention my birthday, again!"

Meldiron laughed. "Ok, it's a deal!"

A few hours later, and the two of them were slowly walking through the gardens surrounding the Halls.

"So he's taking you to a forest feast?" Meldiron asked concernedly.

"That's what the note said. Why?"

Meldiron silently wondered why Legolas would think it was a good idea to attend a forest feast while Mirkwood was still under great threat from attack. It had been a week since Meldiron had returned from his battle on the southern border, and he suspected that it wouldn't be much longer before the orcs would attack again. But this time, with a huge army that wouldn't be so easily beaten.

And these forest feasts, which were always organised and attended by the younger elves, always consisted of plenty of drinking, singing, laughter and dancing, along with a bonfire that would undoubtedly attract the attention of orcs, if the wild rowdy noises of the party, didn't.

"What's wrong?" Lynwen asked after Meldiron hadn't replied.

Meldiron sighed slightly from worry, but quickly smiled as he looked at Lynwen, not wanting to concern her. "Nothing." He said with a shake of his head. He then gestured to her hips where she had the twin blades, that had once belonged to his daughter, strapped to either side of her body. "Are you going to take those with you tonight?" He asked her.

Lynwen looked down to the blades, before looking back up to meet his concerned stare. "I don't know." She said before hesitating for a few moments, wondering why Meldiron looked so grave. "Why? Should I?" She asked him nervously.

Meldiron frowned slightly as he thought about her question. And after a moment of silent thought, he began nodding. "Yes, I would much prefer it if you did." He said in a serious tone.

Lynwen gulped hard. She had never been to one of these forest feasts before, but had always assumed that they were safe enough as they were always held within the healthy, protected part of Mirkwood Forest. But suddenly, she didn't feel so much at ease anymore, and wondered if going tonight, would actually not be such a good idea.

Meldiron could see the worried look on her face, and sighed to himself. He hadn't meant to make her nervous about going out tonight. He was actually really thrilled that Lynwen had finally found a friend to share her life with, and was even more thrilled that that newfound friend was Legolas. They were both young, after all, and should be out enjoying themselves, he tried telling himself. But it didn't stop him from worrying like hell about Lynwen's safety. The young human woman felt like a daughter to him, and he just had an overwhelming sense to protect her, like any father-figure would a child.

Meldiron took her hand in both of his now, forcing Lynwen to look up at him. He forced a smile onto his face in an effort to comfort her. "Hey, don't take any notice of a silly old fool, like me." He said through his warm smile. "It's been at least a couple of thousand years since I was at one of those forest feasts, so I wouldn't know a good time if it jumped up and bit me on the backside!" He said through a chuckle, hoping he was doing a good job of distracting Lynwen from his earlier glum mood. "So you make sure you have fun tonight." He forced himself to say, making a mental note to himself that he was going to pull Legolas aside beforehand.

Lynwen smiled at his words. "Was that with your wife, the last time you were at one of those?" She asked, instantly berating herself for reminding Meldiron of his late soul-mate.

But Meldiron just smiled longingly at the wonderful memory of his beloved human wife, dancing drunkenly around the camp fire of the last ever forest feast that he had attended. "Aye, the last time I went to one of those was with her. And I can still hear her laughing, even now." He said in a small, distant voice.

"What was she like?" Lynwen asked, suddenly realising that she had never really heard Meldiron talk of her, before.

Meldiron smiled widely, his kind brown eyes lighting up with obvious love, as he gestured to a stone bench beside them, taking his seat beside Lynwen. "She was actually a very shy and timid young girl." Meldiron said. "I first met her when she was just eighteen years old. I had travelled with a friend of mine to a human settlement, which lied to the east of Mirkwood, pretty much where Laketown lies, now. Myself and my friend had time off from guard duty, and decided that an adventure to the neighbouring settlement sounded like a fun way to pass the time. And it was! We got drunk in various inns every night, and gambled away what little money we had in card games." He said with a chuckle. "And then, one morning, I was taking a walk through the farmers' market that the village always held on Sundays, and stopped by a fishmongers stall. With the village being built on top of the lake, fishing was a big part of their heritage, and so, there were many fish stalls in the market. But what made me stop at this particular one, was the slight glimpse I had gotten of the young blonde woman, hiding away out back. The man who was manning the stall, whom I soon discovered was her father, brought me out of my daze when he quite aggressively asked me what I was staring at. I soon realised that I had been standing rooted to the spot, gazing helplessly at his daughter behind him, with her coyly looking back at me. And then after babbling away like a nervous idiot, while continuing to be under the murderous glare of her father, I bought a fish supper that I hadn't even wanted, and walked away.

"But all that afternoon and evening, I just couldn't get that girl out of my mind. She was all I could seem to think about. Needless to say, I lost the last of my money that night in a card game due to my lack of concentration..." Meldiron turned to Lynwen now. "... don't ever gamble, by the way!" He warned her, before he continued on with his story. "So, with no money left, me and my friend decided to travel back home to Mirkwood that night. But before we departed the village, and after a bit of asking around, I had managed to track down the blonde girl, and the house that she lived in with her parents. So, realising that I'd forever regret not seeing her again, I went to the house in the dead of night, and quickly worked out which window belonged to her bedroom. And luckily for me, it was on the ground floor."

Meldiron turned to face Lynwen again. "I was never usually that forward, but there was something about this girl that had immediately captured my heart, and I just needed to see her." Meldiron implored where he desperately tried to convince Lynwen of his good intentions.

Lynwen only smiled. "I actually think it sounds incredibly romantic, so far." She said.

Meldiron grinned, happy that Lynwen wasn't shocked at his revelation of seeking out a strange girl's bedroom in the dead of night. "So, I quietly tapped on the glass until I saw a candle being lit inside, before she then finally opened the window. I could see she was shocked to see it was me standing there, as she began to nervously tuck her long platinum hair behind her ears, while a timid smile appeared on her lovely face."

"So what happened?" Lynwen asked, immensely interested.

Meldiron smiled even more. "Well I just told her the truth; that I'd never seen anyone as beautiful as her in my three thousand years of life, and that I couldn't leave without seeing her one last time."

"What did she say?"

"Well... nothing actually. She just remained completely silent." He said with a small laugh. "But her silence just emphasised how painfully shy she was. And even with only the dim light of the candle, I can still remember like it was yesterday, at just how red with embarrassment her face had turned. She truly was so beautiful." Meldiron said with a sigh.

"But then, as we were both just caught in each other's stare we heard her father calling out her name from the hallway outside her room. It was Lorena, by the way. That was her name, Lorena.

"Obviously her father could see the faint light from under her door, and wanted to know if his Lorena was alright. So, in that frantic moment, I made a split-second decision and quickly leaned up onto the windowsill, and kissed her. It only lasted a second, what with her father attempting to enter her bedroom an' all, but it was truly magical. And I could see the exact same reaction in her blue eyes after I had pulled away from the kiss. And from that moment on, we were both hooked." Meldiron concluded with a heart-felt smile.

"That's lovely, Meldiron. Such a beautiful story." Lynwen said.

Meldiron looked out to the overgrowth in front of them. "Aye, it was." He said, his voice a little distant, as he remembered back to that most happy time in his life.

He sat up straight suddenly, as he turned back around to face Lynwen, his hands slapping down onto his knees. "Anyway, young lady, you have a party you need to get ready for. So let's get you back to your chambers." He said, as he stood up from the bench, offering his hand to Lynwen.

As they reached her room, Meldiron turned to face her outside her bedroom door, his face looking a little serious again. "Lynwen, you remember what I've always told you during our training sessions?" He asked gravely. "About never trying to be brave?"

Lynwen nodded in response, wondering why the conversation had turned serious, again.

Meldiron took her hand in his as he looked at her sternly. "Good. So you must promise me that you will always do that if you ever find yourself in a dangerous situation."

Lynwen smiled warmly. "I will, Meldiron. Your words 'Don't try to be brave, just run!', will forever be engraved in my mind. You've told me enough times!" She said through small laughter.

Meldiron gave a breathy laugh in reply. "Aye, I suppose I have, haven't I? Well, never forget it Lynwen. Don't ever try to be brave. Just run!"

xxx

Legolas was making his way to Lynwen's chambers. It was early evening now and he hoped that she would be there. He couldn't wait to see her, and to ensure that she had a fun time tonight. He just hoped that she had accepted his invite to the forest feast.

Although Legolas had not known what a birthday was until he had met Lynwen, he had taken the time since, to discover that they were a popular celebration amongst humans. And even though Lynwen had been raised amongst elves, it was evident that Elrond had brought her up in the knowledge, or hope, that she would eventually end up settling amongst humans, hence, introducing her to the celebration of a birthday.

But with her being found by her brothers as a baby, Elrond had had to make a guess as to how old she had been, and had therefore came up with today as her approximate date of birth. But to Lynwen, it was a fake birthday, and she had told Legolas that for that reason, she had always had trouble accepting it.

But regardless of what she thought, to Legolas, this was a special day. Regardless of whether it was her real birth date or not, today would always mark the celebration of it, and to Legolas, that was something that couldn't be ignored.

"Legolas?"

Legolas turned around to see Meldiron walking towards him. The two ellyn bowed their heads at each other in greeting, as they stopped in front of one another.

"Legolas, I was hoping that I would see you this evening. I just wanted to ask about this forest feast that you're planning on taking Lynwen to." Meldiron said.

Legolas nodded. "Yes, what about it?"

Meldiron looked at the young prince with a serious expression. "Do you think it's such a good idea?"

Legolas frowned in confusion. "Why not?"

"Legolas, you know that Mirkwood is under threat from attack, any day now. Do you really think you should be taking Lynwen out into the forest at a time like this, and risk putting her in danger?"

Legolas instantly began to feel a little enraged. Did Meldiron honestly think that he would let anything bad happen to Lynwen? Did Meldiron think that Lynwen was not safe with him? If anything, Lynwen was safer with himself than with anyone else, for he'd die before he would allow anything, or anyone, to harm her.

These thoughts were infuriating Legolas, and he instantly became defensive. "Meldiron." Legolas said sternly, his eyes narrowed. "I would never let anything happen to Lynwen, and I'm offended that you would think otherwise."

Meldiron sighed in frustration. Although he was happy for the love that Legolas had developed for Lynwen, he also felt that that same love sometimes got in the way of the prince's logic. "Legolas, I'm not insinuating anything of the sort, but I can't help but feel a little concerned for her wellbeing. The forest isn't safe at the moment, and I just don't think you should be taking her outside of the Halls." Meldiron gently said.

Legolas tried to suppress his anger. He couldn't help it. He'd instantly taken offence at what Meldiron had said, and couldn't prevent from trying to defend his abilities to be able to protect the woman he loved. "Meldiron, I appreciate your concern, but I also patrol this woodland, just as much as you do, and I know how to keep her safe." Legolas said curtly through gritted teeth. "And let's not forget that it was me who protected her from being savagely raped by a pack of orcs, not too long ago." Legolas abruptly reminded the older ellon, with his eyes still narrowed in anger.

Meldiron took a long, deep breath, as he looked at the young prince standing defensively before him. "I just think you need to reconsider, Legolas." He said in a calm voice. "I don't doubt your intentions to ensure her safety..."

"Well it certainly doesn't sound like it!" Legolas furiously interrupted, his ice-blue eyes still angrily boring into Meldiron's.

Meldiron took a deep breath. He wasn't sure that he'd ever been spoken to so rudely by Legolas before, and it upset him slightly. But although he didn't want to push Legolas further, he knew he had to try to explain the possible danger he'd be putting Lynwen in by going to that forest feast tonight. He exhaled slowly as he gently spoke again. "Trust me, Legolas. Against _these_ orcs, even your best intentions may not suffice."

Legolas continued to stare angrily at the brown-haired ellon, but knew deep down that Meldiron was right. But not wanting to hurt his own pride by admitting that his idea to take Lynwen to the forest feast was possibly a bad decision, he only gave the elder ellon a simple, curt reply. "I will look after her, Meldiron." Legolas said sternly, and straight to the point. He then brought his hand up to his chest and bowed his head pleasantly, wanting to end this infuriating conversation with the ancient ellon immediately.

Meldiron, not wanting to be known as an old killjoy by ruining the youngsters' fun, simply nodded his head. "Very well." He said quietly. Defeated. "You make sure you two have fun tonight!" Meldiron said in an upbeat voice, with a small smile upon his face.

"We will, Meldiron." Legolas said forcefully, before he continued on his walk towards Lynwen's chambers, rudely leaving the ancient ellon standing in the same spot.

After watching the young prince walk away, Meldiron slowly turned around and hesitantly made his way to his own dwellings; which consisted of a simple single-bedded room within the barracks.

After entering his tiny, quiet room, he slowly shut the door behind him. He walked over to his bed before sitting himself down on top of the neatly made covers, and just sat there quietly, looking out into empty space.

Meldiron always managed to keep himself busy during the days. Whether he was on Guard duty, training new recruits, or assisting with battle strategies; he was usually always busy. And being busy, was something that he so desperately needed in his life. He craved it. For being busy provided him with the only light solace he could get from the constant ache in his heart.

There was no one really left in his life now. Anyone who had ever meant anything to him, was gone. His parents, his best friend, his beloved wife, and his daughter; all gone, leaving him completely and utterly alone in this world.

Every day, he could feel his heart break, that little bit more, leaving him to wonder why he hadn't yet died from it. When he fell in love with Lorena all those years ago, he knew that he would probably end up dying of a broken heart after her death. And he was fine with that. The love that they had had for each other had been worth his impending death.

But he had never expected to die as slowly as this. This was a slow, and extremely painful death that had lasted for well over two thousand years so far. There was just no end to the agony he always felt.

Meldiron continued to stare at the wall in front of him, the silence almost deafening him, forcing him to dwell on all that he had lost in his life. Then, unable to suppress them any longer, the tears began to fall. At first, they were silent tears, just quietly and calmly running down his face. But before long, they eventually broke out into a full-on sob.

He buried his face in his hands, as he continued to cry shamelessly. The loneliness always got to him during the times he was alone in this small, pitiful room. But today, after remembering back and re-living the day that he had first met Lorena, only brought on those feelings of lonesomeness, tenfold.

To everyone outside of this tiny, compact room, Meldiron was a happy ellon with a warm smile always spread across his kind face. He was someone whom everyone could always rely on for help and advice, and was even a shoulder to cry on for most.

But here, right now, crying heartedly into his hands, was the _real _Meldiron. This was the true, broken ellon, that Meldiron always tried to hide away behind his publicly happy demeanour. And secretly, he was dying inside.

He laid down onto the small single bed, resting his head upon the pillow, as he continued to cry heartedly. "I miss you so much, Lorena." He whispered desperately into thin air. "I miss you so much."

xxx

Legolas was sat on the edge of Lynwen's bed, flicking through one of her books as he waited for to get ready in her adjoining bathing chambers.

"So what goes on at these forest feasts?" Lynwen shouted from the bathroom.

Legolas, still aimlessly flicking through the pages, shouted back over his shoulder. "Just drinking, dancing and singing. You know, the usual." He said flippantly, deciding to keep the orgy that had started at the last one he was at, a secret. He had fled the moment he had realised that he had been the only one who was not engaged in intimate activity with someone. Of course, Horthien couldn't wait to go into great detail about it, the next day! Apparently, there wasn't a single person left at that particular forest feast who wasn't fucking, or being fucked, by the end of that night!

Legolas just hoped that there wouldn't be a repeat of it tonight!

He slammed the book shut, and carelessly tossed it onto the bed behind him. He couldn't stop thinking about his encounter with Meldiron, just ten minutes previous. It was only after he had left Meldiron standing there in the corridor, did he realise how rude he had been to the older ellon. And that wasn't like him. Especially to someone as kind as Meldiron.

He sighed now, as the guilt riddled his body. He knew Meldiron was just trying to look out for them, and was only attempting to give helpful advice. But as was the case for Legolas every single day, these blasted feelings he held for Lynwen, were driving him crazy! They were engulfing his body, and clouding his mind, and had also apparently started to make him discourteous to people whom didn't deserve the hostility.

He decided at that moment, that he would seek Meldiron out first thing tomorrow morning, and offer his heartfelt apologies for his rudeness towards him. Meldiron didn't deserve that ill-treatment. And Legolas would continue to feel awful about it until he was able to apologise to the older elf in person.

Meldiron had always been so kind to Legolas his whole life, and always looked out for him, with most of the time being more of a father to Legolas than Thranduil ever was.

Poor Meldiron, Legolas thought as he bent forward and put his head in his hands. _I was such a dick to him_, he berated himself.

He abruptly stood up from the bed, and walked over to the other side of the room. He crossed his arms over his chest as he looked at the few trinkets that Lynwen had scattered on a shelf. They were random pieces of various little things, like tiny intricately carved wooden animals, to the odd little jewellery box. They were strange, to say the least, he thought as looked at them a little more closely. It was like they had been made for a child.

But he was broken from his thoughts after he heard something smash behind him, followed by Lynwen cursing under her breath. He instinctively turned around, but noticed straight away that his new location within her bedroom now gave him a perfect view through the gap in the unclosed bathroom door. And the sight that he was met with, took his breath away. Because standing with her back to him, was a topless Lynwen. She was wearing only a pair of tight black riding pants, with her hair messily pulled up into a bun on top of her head. She was too busy bending over and picking up whatever it was that she had dropped onto the floor, to notice that she had a stunned audience.

Legolas remained frozen to his spot with his eyes uncontrollably scanning her naked back. He noticed how her pale and pinkish skin, was completely smooth looking, with a scatter of brown freckles upon her shoulders. He took in how her shoulder blades protruded ever so slightly but elegantly, and that her subtly toned muscles, ever so gently showed beneath her petite frame.

Feeling that oh so familiar feeling beginning to stir in his groin again, he quickly turned away and made his way back over to the bed, sitting himself down quickly as he tried to busy his lustful thoughts by looking through another random, shit book.

And after only a couple of minutes, Lynwen emerged from the bathroom and was, thankfully, wearing a tunic. She reached up her hand to the back of her head and pulled out the hair-tie, freeing her messy bun and allowing her tousled hair to fall freely over her shoulders.

"Shall we go?" She asked.

Legolas cleared his throat, not trusting that his voice wouldn't still be missing after seeing Lynwen topless a couple of minutes before. "Yes, let's go." He said as he stood up from the bed, picking up Lynwen's woollen cloak from its hook before placing it across her shoulders.

xxx

"So have you made your move on her yet?"

Legolas was sat down beside the bonfire, watching Lynwen across the way laughing and dancing with one of the ellyn from his regiment.

Horthien was sat beside him, grilling him about the Rivendell human.

"No, Horthien. And I'm not going to, either." Legolas replied irritably, while continuing to watch Lynwen intently.

"Well, why not?" Horthien bit back just as irritably.

Legolas turned to face his friend before sighing deeply. "Because, Horthien, she is already taken."

Horthien jerked back slightly, his eyes wide with surprise. "Taken by whom? That Rivendell twin, you mean?"

Legolas sighed again in frustration. "Yes, Horthien, precisely. You know she is with Elrohir, so why act surprised?"

Horthien casually shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I don't see him here now, do you?"

"Well, no..."

"And she's been here for like seven or eight months," Horthien interrupted. "and he still hasn't come for her? Well, I'm sorry mellon, but I don't think he has a claim to her anymore." Horthien concluded defiantly.

Legolas looked back over to Lynwen, seeing her dancing really badly to others' singing, with a bottle of wine in her hand. "It's not that simple, my friend." He said with an exasperated sigh.

"It is that simple!" Horthien argued. "You're just putting obstacles in your way! Just walk over there right now, grab a hold of her arms and force her to face you. Then, before she has time to question your brute behaviour, sensually slide your fingers back into her hair without saying a word, just letting your sex-eyes do all the talking, and then lean down and kiss her!" Horthien said simply. "Trust me, girls love all that passionate shit! She'll go weak at the knees! And then, mellon, she'll be putty in your hands." Horthien said with a sly smirk on his face.

Legolas turned to look at him, his brows scrunched up in confusion. But his mouth couldn't prevent from smiling widely. "Sex-eyes?"

Horthien rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Yes, Legolas, sex-eyes. You know, when you look deeply into her eyes, letting her see all the dirty things you want to do to her."

Legolas burst out laughing, causing Horthien to sit-up a little defensively. "Is that what you use, Horthien? Sex-eyes?" Legolas asked through his laughter. "C'mon, Horthien, give me your best sex-eyes, now." Legolas teased, as he leant forward towards Horthien and stared into his eyes with intensity, thoroughly enjoying mocking his friend.

"Oh, fuck off, Legolas." Horthien muttered under his breath, as he turned away from the ridiculing, in a huff.

"Hey, isn't that Tara over there with that guy?" Legolas asked suddenly.

Horthien looked to where Legolas was gesturing to, seeing his most recent fuck-buddy, cuddled up next to a random ellon. "Yeah, that's her."

"What happened between you two? You broken up?"

"Yeah." Horthien said flippantly. "She got a bit too clingy for my liking."

Legolas rolled his eyes at his friend, silently wondering if Horthien would ever settle down with anyone. But he doubted it very much.

"Hey! You not dancing?"

Lynwen's boisterous voice caused the two ellyn to look up, seeing her hovering above them.

"Well, funny you should ask that, because I was just going to ask this beautiful elleth beside me if she would do me the honours of dancing with me." Horthien said loudly, attracting the attention of the, now, giggling elf sat beside him.

"So, my lady." Horthien said to Lynwen. "You may have my seat." He said as he stood up, subtly winking to Legolas as he walked away with the elleth.

Legolas just cringed with embarrassment, as it was so obvious that Horthien had done that on purpose, so as to leave himself and Lynwen alone.

But Lynwen just flopped down next to Legolas, seemingly oblivious to Horthien's unsubtle match-making techniques. "Phew! I'm completely out of breath! Too much dancing."

Legolas turned to look at her flushed face, seeing her chest rising up and down quite rapidly. "Yes, you looked like you were enjoying yourself over there!" He said with a smile.

"Yeah, I'm having a great time! This definitely beats my birthday, last year. What a disaster that was!" Lynwen said as she took another swig from the bottle of wine.

"Why, what happened last year?"

Lynwen snorted dramatically. "Where do I start?!" She said with a roll of the eyes. "Maybe with the week building up to it being complete hell because Elrohir had walked out on me? Or maybe me getting engaged to a guy I didn't want to marry, during the birthday party? Or my reputation being completely smashed to smithereens a few days later, after my fiancée caught me with Elrohir?"

"Wait... you were engaged?! To whom?" Legolas asked, shocked.

Lynwen, with the bottle of wine held to her lips, looked at Legolas out of the corner of eye. Oh, right. She'd actually never spoken of this. She slowly brought down the bottle and offered it to Legolas who took it off of her, but was too stunned, himself, to drink.

"Um, just to some guy from Rohan." Lynwen said as she nervously tucked her hair behind her ears. She hadn't really spoken about Éomer since that whole disastrous period, a year ago. She had purposely not mentioned his name or status to Legolas, for even though she had never wanted to marry the King of Rohan's nephew, she knew that he had never deserved that horrible treatment, and therefore, revealing his identity was unnecessary.

"H... How?" Legolas asked after a moment of silence.

Lynwen sighed as she placed her elbow on her knee, and placed her chin into the palm of her hand. "Elrond arranged it all..."

There it was again, 'Elrond', instead of 'ada'. But Legolas remained silent, allowing her to continue.

"... he arranged for this guy to come to Imladris so as we could meet each other, with the intention, of course, for us to eventually get engaged. Well, this guy proposed to me after only a couple of days, at my birthday party. I knew it was sudden, but I found myself saying 'yes'. I was doing it for all the wrong reasons, of course..."

Lynwen went on to explain to Legolas in detail about all that happened during that time, a year ago. About how hers and Elrohir's relationship had started unexpectedly after he had returned home from the expedition. About the heart-breaking way in which he then up and left her. About how she had used poor Éomer to try to forget about Elrohir. And at how she and Elrohir were then discovered in the stables by Éomer.

"It was hands down the most embarrassing moment of my entire life!" Lynwen declared. "I want the ground to swallow me up right now, just by even thinking about it!" She added, as she buried her face in her hands.

Legolas just looked at her gob-smacked and wide-eyed. He hadn't expected Lynwen to have been so open about her little sexual stints in stables, and the story embarrassed him too! Probably more than it did her! How much had she drunk to be able to share such personal details?

Legolas subtly hid the bottle of wine behind his back while she still had her face covered with her hands. Out of sight, out of mind, he figured.

But aside from the immense embarrassment, he also felt feelings of extreme jealously at her telling of her relationship with Elrohir. He was absolutely fucking livid with that Rivendell twin! Where the fuck was he?!

Legolas thought about Horthien's earlier words, and started to agree with them. Maybe Elrohir had indeed lost all claim to Lynwen, since he still hadn't come for her. Legolas knew for certain, that if he, himself, had made mad passionate love to Lynwen, repeatedly telling her how much he loved her in the same way Elrohir had apparently done countless times, then he'd be by her side, for always! He certainly wouldn't leave a good eight months, or however long it had been, without seeing her!

In his raging thoughts, Legolas hadn't noticed the wild party dimming to an almost silence. His furious eyes came back into focus and he looked at Lynwen who was staring wide-eyed at something on the opposite side of the bonfire. He quickly followed her gaze, and sighed deeply at what he saw.

"Not again." He muttered to himself, throwing Lynwen an awkward glance out of the corner of his eye.

Lynwen was still staring in shock. But still looking none the less.

A deep groan caused Legolas to turn back around and look at the two ellith; one kissing the ellon on the mouth, while the other was snaking down his body, slowly undoing the front of his breeches..."

"C'mon Lynwen, let's go." Legolas said, a little abruptly.

But Lynwen didn't move, continuing to watch the imminent sex-show before them, with fascination. And so was the rest of the party, he noticed! And it was only a matter of seconds before others began to join in, creating their own little make-out sessions around the bonfire. And Legolas grunted in frustration when he noticed that Horthien was one of them!

"Lynwen. I said 'let's go!'" Legolas repeated to her sternly.

Lynwen slowly dragged her eyes away from the rapidly-developing orgy, and looked at Legolas, finally acknowledging his call.

Legolas was already stood, his hand held out to her as his cold, angry eyes, bored into her.

Lynwen wasn't sure if his anger was aimed at her or at the situation unravelling around them, but either way, she reached up and took a hold of Legolas' hand, allowing him to swiftly pull her up from the ground.

"Go." Legolas firmly ordered her with a quick nod his head, signalling for her to walk in the direction he'd just indicated.

Lynwen didn't dare to argue with him. He was seriously pissed off. And so she just walked away from the party, and into the direction that Legolas had ordered her to go to.

Before he followed after her, Legolas quickly glanced over his shoulder at the unravelling orgy. He saw at least two ellyn receiving full-on blow-jobs with one other couple grinding away together, and he silently wondered if this was always going to be the case at these forest feasts, from now on? He'd think twice before bringing Lynwen to one of these again, that's for sure!

After he had angrily stalked away from the scene, forcing Lynwen to do the same, she suddenly began laughing once they were a good distance away.

"Oh, Valar! I've never witnessed anything like that, before!" She exclaimed, holding her hand to her mouth in shock, as she turned to face Legolas. "They were actually... you know... getting it on! Right there in front of everybody!"

Legolas still had a stern expression on his face as he stopped in his angry walk to look at Lynwen. His brows were closely knit together in fury, and his breathing had picked up a lot.

Lynwen stopped in her laughter, slowly bringing her hand away from her mouth. "What the matter?" She asked him.

Legolas didn't respond, and only looked up ahead as he took a hold of Lynwen's hand. "Come. Let's get you back to the Halls." He said, his deep voice still sounding livid.

Lynwen sharply pulled back on his hand, stopping his attempt to drag her away. "Why are you angry?" She asked, forcing him to look at her.

Legolas just looked back at her, unsure of what to say. Why was he so angry? He wasn't sure. Yeah, voyeurism wasn't something that he got a kick out of. But then that's why he had left tonight, and the previous forest feast he had been at. But the difference being was that he hadn't been all that angry after the previous forest feast he'd left, but that tonight, for some reason, he was royally pissed off! Maybe his desire to protect Lynwen didn't just stop at keeping her safe from violence and hurt? Maybe his strong desires to protect her extended even to situations such as this?

"I don't know, I just didn't want you to bare witness to all of that." Legolas eventually responded, as he looked down to their, still, joined hands. "I apologise for getting angry."

Lynwen smiled at him. He was so caring and loving; everything she could ever want in a best friend. She let go of his hand, and instead, embraced him in a tight hug, catching Legolas off guard. It took him a few seconds of hesitation before he eventually wrapped his own arms around her back, awkwardly holding her to him.

Legolas both cherished and loathed moments like these. Being able to hold Lynwen close like this, subtly burying his face in her sweet-smelling hair and feeling the faint beat of her heart against his chest, overwhelmed him with intense feelings of love. But at the same time, there was always that damn invisible barrier that would forever prevent him from making her _his_.

"You're so sweet, Legolas." Lynwen spoke into his chest. "But you don't need to keep sacrificing your own fun, just to protect me."

Legolas smiled into her hair. "Trust me, Lynwen. Watching Horthien having sex is not something that I would class as fun!"

Lynwen laughed as she brought her head back to look up at his face, but still kept her arms firmly wrapped around his waist. She remained silent as she took her time studying his facial features, feeling herself getting lost in his intense gaze. He had flawless, pale-white skin that radiated a healthy glow and was soft to the touch. His white-blond hair was smooth, straight, and much longer than her own, making her a little jealous of him in that respect. He had full lips, beautifully crafted cheekbones, a strong jaw that exuded his masculinity, and absolutely killer dimples from his amazingly stunning smile. And then there were those eyes! Those eyes that could freeze an enemy to the spot in sheer fear, or make a woman's heart melt from their powerful intensity.

"You're so handsome!" Lynwen found herself blurting out, knowing the wine had made her tongue a bit looser than normal, but she didn't care. Hell, he _was _handsome! And she wanted to share that fact with him!

Legolas instantly flushed a shade of pink as he nervously smiled at Lynwen. "You... you think I'm... handsome?" He asked in disbelief.

Lynwen frowned at his ridiculous question. "Hell, yeah! You're bloody gorgeous!" She exclaimed. "How on earth are you still single?"

Legolas gulped hard at her blunt question. _Because I'm madly in love with you? Because there's no one else on this earth that I want more than you? _He quickly forced those true thoughts to the back of his mind, knowing that she could never know the truth, and just shrugged his shoulders instead. "Just never found the right person, I suppose."

"But you must have had elleths literally throwing themselves at you throughout your life. How come you've never found the right one amongst all of those?"

_Because none of them were you? Because my sorry, pathetic heart will always belong to you, and to no-one else for the rest of eternity? _"I don't know." Legolas decided to say instead, with another awkward shrug of his shoulders.

Lynwen continued to study him in silence for a while longer, making Legolas feel a little insecure.

"Legolas." She eventually said. "Have you ever... _been_... with anyone?"

Legolas laughed nervously. "What are you talking about Lynwen? I've been with many people. I'm with you right now, aren't I?"

Lynwen's straight-faced expression didn't change as she continued to study him. "You know what I mean." She simply said.

Legolas stopped his nervous laughter, and anxiously looked away from her stare. Why the hell was she asking him this? And how the hell was he supposed to answer her without sounding like a loser? He was no match for Elrohir, that was for sure! He would never be able to live up to that Rivendell twin's reputation. Not that he'd particularly want to be classed as a womaniser, himself, but would admitting to Lynwen that he was still a virgin, make him a laughing stock in her eyes? She obviously preferred highly experienced guys like Elrohir, and not a pathetic square like himself.

He turned his head back to face her, seeing that she was still patiently awaiting an answer from him, her eyes still glued to his face. But she looked deadly serious, and not like she was teasing him, or was about to, even. So maybe she wouldn't think any less of him? Maybe she wouldn't laugh at his sad, sorry arse?

Legolas opened his mouth to speak, when a distant noise caused his head to snap to his left. He stared into the thicket of the forest before him, his demeanour suddenly on high alert.

"What is it?" Lynwen asked, as she too started looking in the same direction as him.

Legolas only frowned. "I'm not sure..." But he was stopped mid-sentence after hearing the noise again.

Lynwen, not being able to hear anything herself, started looking back and forth between the forest and Legolas, trying to work out what it was he was looking at.

"What?" Lynwen impatiently asked.

But Legolas just held up his hand to silence her, as he continued to stare into the deep forest. Without taking his eyes off the overgrowth to his left, he spoke quietly but sternly. "Lynwen, go back to the Halls. Now."

Lynwen felt a shiver down her spine as fear suddenly enveloped her. "What... why? Is there something out there?" She asked nervously.

Legolas slowly reached behind his back, quietly retrieving his bow and an arrow from his quiver, all the while, keeping his eyes solely focused on the same part of the forest.

"Lynwen, you must listen to me." He said, still with a quiet but stern voice. "There are around two hundred orcs approaching from the north. I believe they are still a mile or so away from the realm, but they will be here in no time."

Lynwen's fear just turned to blood-curdling terror, in a matter of seconds. Her legs felt like jelly at Legolas' words, as she just pointlessly stared in the direction that the orcs were apparently coming from.

"Lynwen, the Halls are just behind us, through that last row of trees. Go now, and run. Don't look back..."

"No, Legolas." She interrupted him, as she unsheathed her twin blades from her hips. Even though she was petrified, there was no way she was going to abandon her best friend. "I can help you fight them..."

"No!" Legolas broke his transfixed stare on the north with his panicked voice, and turned to face Lynwen. He dropped the bow and arrow to his side before placing his hands on either side of Lynwen's head. "No, Lynwen." He said, his voice sounding broken, and his eyes desperately looking into hers. "Please, I beg you, don't fight me on this. You must go back to the Halls." He pleaded.

Lynwen stared back at him for a moment, thinking about his request. "But I can't just leave you out here." She shook her head slightly. "No, I _won't _just leave you out here..."

"Lynwen." Legolas interrupted her. "Please, I won't be able to protect you during a battle. I need you to go back to the Halls, and remain inside."

"But..."

"And, Lynwen." He interrupted her attempted protest. "You must go and warn the realm. Go and seek my father or Daeron, and tell them what I just told you. They will know what to do. Tell them I have gone to meet the border guards at the northern edge, and will await back-up there."

Lynwen frantically searched his eyes, knowing deep down that he was right and that the realm needed to be warned of the unsuspecting attack. But she didn't want to leave him.

"Go!" Legolas shouted at her, startling her out of her thoughts. She stumbled back a few steps, but still hesitated slightly, remaining rooted to the spot. But she knew that her very average fighting skills wouldn't match that of an orc warrior, and that her presence in the battle would be more of a hindrance than a help.

She reluctantly started nodding her agreement. "Ok, I'll go."

Legolas looked instantly relieved at her submission to listen to him, as he continued looking at her, waiting for her to turn and leave.

Lynwen hovered for a moment, wondering if this was going to be the last time she'd see him. No, she couldn't allow herself to think that. She had to believe that Legolas was perfectly capable to come out of this alive. Still, she couldn't prevent herself from lunging forward and embracing him tightly one last time. "Please be safe." She whispered into his neck before planting a quick kiss on his cheek. She didn't allow herself to linger any longer, not trusting that she'd be able to leave him if she remained there another second. So she turned immediately and retreated in the direction of the Halls, not giving Legolas an opportunity to respond.

Lynwen ran as fast as she could, bursting through the main gates, and sprinting through the winding pathways inside the Halls, desperately searching for Daeron or Thranduil in her mad-dash.

She came to the archway that led to the princes' chambers, and decided to head down there. Arriving at Daeron's bedroom, she began pounding on the door with her fists. "Oh Valar, please be here." She panicked to herself.

The door abruptly swung open, revealing a very pissed-off looking Daeron standing in the doorway. But his anger immediately turned to confusion after seeing it was Lynwen, seemingly, attempting to break down his door.

"What the fuck, Lynwen?" He said as he eyed her up and down. Then his face paled. "Oh fuck, it's not Legolas is it? What's happened?"

Lynwen was panting hard. "Me and Legolas were out in the woods and he said he could hear two hundred orcs approaching from the north. He said to come here and tell you, and that he will wait for back-up on the northern border." Lynwen could hardly breath from her panic.

Daeron immediately retreated back into his chambers and picked up his bow and blades. "Get in there." He ordered her after he stepped out into the corridor, pushing Lynwen into his bedroom. "Lock that door behind you, and open it only for myself or Legolas." He strictly said to her, before taking off at a run down the corridor, and out of sight.

Lynwen did as she was told, and shut the bedroom door and bolted the heavy lock firmly into place. She turned around and leant back against the door, wondering if her franticly beating heart was about to pound right out of her chest! She suddenly felt so helpless. The realm was about to become under attack, and here she was, hiding away like a coward. She pushed herself away from the door and began to restlessly pace the room. She so wanted to go back out there and help, somehow. But she had to face facts, her fighting skills were still shite, and she'd probably get slaughtered the second she set foot into the impending battle.

She started thinking about all the people that her and Legolas had just left behind at the forest feast. Holy shit, she hoped that they would be alright!

She sat down on the edge of Daeron's bed, nervously twiddling her fingers in her lap. Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck! Please let everyone come out of this ok! She silently begged.

xxx

"Legolas, what's happening?"

Legolas turned to face his brother who had just arrived at the northern border before crouching down beside him.

"Nothing yet. It seems as though they have stopped around half a mile away."

Daeron nodded as he looked out to the trees in front of them.

"Where is ada?" Legolas asked with a frown as he looked around at the extra sixty or so soldiers that had just arrived with Daeron.

"He's leading a troop on the southern border, just in case this invasion is a decoy. He's also sent a few extra soldiers to mann the western border, for the same reasons."

Legolas nodded. "Yeah, good thinking." He looked at Daeron with a hint of resentment and hesitated slightly before asking his next question. "And what about Lynwen? Where is she?"

Daeron looked at his brother with a smug smirk. "Keeping my bed warm." He said, followed by an arrogant wink of his eye.

Legolas instantly felt his blood boil in fury at his older brother's words. "For fuck's sake, Daeron! Can't you be serious for once in your life?!"

"Ok, ok, calm down Legolas." Daeron exhaled loudly with a shake of his head. "Shit, you don't have a funny bone in your body, do you? Relax, she's safe. She _is_ in my bedroom though!" Daeron said with his usual egotistical tone, not being able to resist the urge to wind up his younger brother.

Legolas chose not to bite. Now was not the time to get into another fight with Daeron over Lynwen. He exhaled deeply where he tried to calm his rising anger, and re-focus on the task at hand.

"Ada's gonna be right pissed off."

Legolas turned back to acknowledge his brother's words, and came face to face with Daeron looking at him with that same infuriating smirk that Legolas wanted to punch off his face!

"What the hell are you on about?" Legolas asked irritably.

Daeron just smirked wider, his blue eyes holding that teasing glint. "Oh you know, when he finds out that you've fallen in love with a human, 'an all."

Legolas just frowned in annoyance, forcing his clenched fists to remain at his sides. "You know fuck all about me, Daeron." He sneered as he turned his gaze back to the trees ahead.

Daeron just snorted a breathy laugh that clearly said _'Yeah, whatever.'_, before he also turned to look at the trees ahead, patiently waiting for the impending battle to begin.

"Hir nin (My Lord) Daeron. Hir nin Legolas. I bring urgent word from the western border. The stronghold has come under attack from some eighty orcs, and we desperately need aid!" The young Mirkwood messenger reiterated desperately to the two princes.

Daeron stood from his crouching position. "I'll go, and I'll take twenty soldiers with me." He said to Legolas. "You stay here with the rest, and wait to see what those two-hundred out there will do." He said, pointing in the direction of the trees in front of them. "And if they don't advance in the next few minutes, send out a scout to see what the hell they're doing. If they make a move in either direction, attack them before they even have chance to budge, anywhere!"

And with that, Daeron took off with the messenger, towards the western border, taking twenty of the soldiers he'd arrived with.

Legolas watched Daeron leave, hating the fact that he despised him. His own brother! It wasn't normal, he knew, but Legolas couldn't help it. He was still feeling really raw about the fight that they had gotten into over a month previous, and the words that Daeron had said to him; _'I thought you wanted to talk about how that slut from Rivendell coaxed me into her bed'. _And; _'As much as I hate that prick, Elrohir, I__'__ll have to shake his hand for teaching Lynwen on how to suck really good cock.'_

Even though Meldiron had assured Legolas that nothing had actually happened between Lynwen and his brother, those words still grated at Legolas like nothing else. How dare someone speak so lowly of Lynwen! How dare they use such vulgarity to describe her?!

But it was his brother's next words; '_You really are as pathetic as I always suspected you were.', _that affected Legolas the most. He had always felt like a spare part amongst this family, never really feeling like he belonged or was even cared about. But Daeron just confirmed it all with that one, hurtful sentence.

Legolas was fed up of the way he was always looked down upon by his older brother, but most of all, he was so emotionally cut-up every time his own father looked at him with detest, clearly etched into his eyes. It was like the mere sight of Legolas, made Thranduil want to look away in disgust, seemingly harbouring an immense amount of hatred towards his youngest son that Legolas would never understand.

Legolas took a deep breath to keep his emotions in check, forcing his mind back onto the impending battle. But he had already decided after that confrontation with Daeron and Thranduil over a month ago, that he would be leaving Mirkwood the next opportunity he got. And he would never look back.

xxx

Daeron swung his sword with a swift and strong force that the giant orc didn't have a chance to dodge, slicing off his head with one clean cut. But there was no time to think, for Daeron was immediately attacked again by two more orcs.

The battle on the western border had been a difficult one so far. These orcs were much larger than the ones Daeron was used to fighting, and much, much stronger. The only advantage the elves had was agility and speed, catching the attacking orcs off guard with their inconceivable rapidity.

And word had arrived from the southern border that as yet, no orcs had attacked there. So attacking from the north hadn't been a decoy after all, so it may seem. But it was strange that, despite the amount of orcs that had so far been killed here on the western border, more just seemed to keep appearing, making the very limited number of elves that were stationed here, struggle to remain alive.

"Where the fuck are you all coming from?" Daeron shouted as he decapitated another orc, before piercing his sword straight through the stomach of another.

The clash of steel against steel beside him, made him glance to his left, seeing the one person whom he loathed more than the orcs themselves; Meldiron.

Meldiron was swinging his twin blades, slashing at the enemy that was coming from all directions. But Daeron noticed that Meldiron's strength seemed to be declining as he struggled to continue to battle the endless amount of orcs. And a quick glance around at the number of fallen elves littering the ground explained the dwindling of Sindarin being shouted through the dark, night air.

And soon enough, Daeron realised that it was only himself and Meldiron left within this particular vicinity of the battle, completely fucking hating the fact that he was now seemingly having his back watched by the old dickhead, with himself dutifully having to return the favour. _Why the fuck did I have to end up being paired with this wanker?!_ Daeron exclaimed to himself as they continued to ward off the orcs, together.

But Meldiron's old age was showing more and more in his slowing movements and softer strikes, barely taking out the enemy with his frail hits. _Ha! The stupid old bastard is definitely waning! _Daeron happily thought to himself, as his youth allowed him to continue his own fighting without tiring in the slightest.

Daeron realised at that moment that this was the closest he had been to Meldiron since that night the older elf had almost strangled him to death. And the memory of that most infuriating evening of his life, ignited the dulled flame of hatred he had been holding for Meldiron, into an uncontrollable wall of fire!

And now the immense anger and detestation he was currently holding for Meldiron, was now coming out in his fighting, as he began savagely slashing and gruesomely cutting up at the orcs, slicing limbs from their bodies as easily as a hot knife through butter. And soon, it seemed that the only sense available to him was the sense of smell, as the gut-wrenching stench of foul orc blood invaded his senses, making him want to heave violently as the black disgusting liquid continued to splatter his entire body.

But then suddenly, and without any kind of warning, it was silent. Daeron looked around in surprise to see that it was only himself and Meldiron left. In the distance, the far-off cries of comrades battling against the enemy could still be heard, but for Daeron and Meldiron, it seemed as though the battle was over.

Daeron and Meldiron just looked at each other, both panting hard from the extreme work-out that they'd both just had to endure, but still remained silent. Meldiron just seemed too exhausted to speak as he continued breathing at an extraordinarily fast pace, his tired brown eyes leaving the prince's, to wearily look around at the carnage surrounding them.

But Daeron, although was out of breath, continued to remain silent due to the fact that he just couldn't bring himself to utter a single civil word to the ancient ellon, as he continued to stare at him with venom in his deep-blue eyes. By the Valar, Daeron hated Meldiron with his entire being, and had wanted nothing more than to seek revenge against the knobhead since that night in Lynwen's room.

And now, finally, here he was, stood in front of the dick that had belittled and insulted him in front of Lynwen, and rage and hatred was now making all logic escape his, usually, calculating mind. Daeron narrowed his eyes in detest as he continued to watch Meldiron who was now, for some reason, rubbing his hands over the back of his head.

Daeron's breathing escalated due to his rising anger, and all he wanted to do was to kill the mother fucker!

But just at that precise moment, and without any warning at all, Daeron suddenly found himself thrown into a life-altering ultimatum. One that 99% of the population wouldn't need to think about. But for Daeron, a split-second of decision making _did _cross his mind, as he tried to determine at just how much he wanted rid of Meldiron. Was the resentment Daeron held towards Meldiron, strong enough to allow him to remain silent, and to not offer any warning? Was the resentment strong enough to allow Daeron to just stand back and watch what was about to happen? Well, after a second of hesitation on Daeron's part, it appeared as though it was.

Meldiron had been looking around at the huge amount of dead bodies littering the ground of the forest floor, feeling his emotions surge at the sight of the number of dead elves that were mixed in amongst the carnage. A lump rose to his throat at the horrific sight of his immortal kin, laying, scattered, their lifeless eyes staring up at nothing, with their bodies covered in their own red blood, oozing from their fatal wounds.

Being the person that Meldiron was; always making time for everyone and knowing most of the people that resided within Mirkwood, he began to take in the faces of his deceased kin surrounding him, instantly recognising most of them. One was a newly bonded ellon, with his first child due in a number of months. Another was an older elf whom Meldiron had battled with on many occasions, and whose wife had died around six hundred years ago, meaning he was now leaving behind one grown-up child, an orphan. Another he recognised, was a very young ellon who was actually a new recruit, and had only joined the Mirkwood Guard a few months previous. He was an only child, Meldiron remembered the youngster telling him this after he'd joined the army a few months ago, and that his parents had been immensely proud of him after he'd passed his rigorous tests and had finally been recruited into the Mirkwood army. Now, those same parents had just lost their only child.

Meldiron's vision was becoming blurred by the angry and heart-rending tears that were brimming in his eyes. The constant ache in his slowly-breaking heart intensified painfully. None of them deserved to die! The deaths of these brave ellyn lying dead on the forest floor, were going to rip the broken hearts of their loved ones, right out of their chests, forever leaving a cold and lonely void that would never be filled again. Meldiron angrily rubbed his hands over the back of his head, knowing all too well how excruciatingly painful and incredibly barren that dark void was. This just wasn't fair! None of it was!

But just at that exact moment, Meldiron felt an unexpected sharp pain shoot through his chest, the shock of which, seemed to override the initial agony of the startling feeling. He instinctively looked down to his chest, only to find the sharp tip of a roughly made sword protruding from his torso. His vision was now blurring for reasons other than his angered tears, as he helplessly watched his own blood pouring from the wound. All too quickly he found that his legs were suddenly too weak to hold him up any longer, realising that it was only the sword still being held by the unknown being behind him, that was still keeping him stood upright.

He weakly glanced up, shock, pain and desperation etched into his panicked eyes, and saw Daeron still standing in the same spot a few metres before him. The prince remained rooted to the spot, standing perfectly still as he watched on with a blank expression.

Meldiron wasn't too sure what was happening as it had all just happened too fast. Had he really just been stabbed? Was there really a sword skewered right through his body? The agonising scream that escaped his lips when the sword was then roughly pulled out from his back, echoed around the dark forest. And with the sword no longer propping him up, Meldiron slumped to the ground as he slowly felt all traces of life beginning to slip away from his body. He felt so tired. So damn tired! He just wanted to close his eyes and sleep.

Then Daeron, suddenly taking steps towards him, alerted him awake again, bringing him back to the severity of the situation he was trapped in. But to his absolute horror, when Daeron approached his side and quickly slit the throat of the orc who was now visible to Meldiron, Daeron only remained standing, a sly smirk spread across his face.

"Help me." Meldiron managed to stagger with his raspy voice.

"Say 'Please'." Daeron simply ordered.

Meldiron began coughing and gasping, his body desperately trying to accommodate the oxygen that was rapidly escaping his dying body, with blood splattering from his mouth. "p... p... pl" Cough. "ease." Meldiron managed to sputter out amongst a series of more desperate gasps for air and extreme coughing.

Daeron sneered as he continued to look down at Meldiron. "You look so pathetic." Daeron said through a small degrading laugh. "Desperately clinging to life like that, and grovelling at my feet like the sad, weak loser that you always have been." Daeron crouched down now so that his face was just inches from Meldiron's. "I told you you'd be sorry for the way you treated me, Meldiron." Daeron said, his voice now just disturbingly calm. "You should never have fucked with me." He quietly said, before he stood back up, harshly kicking Meldiron onto his back.

This action caused Meldiron's lungs to fill up with his own blood a lot faster, prompting a last desperate attempt from the older elf to desperately try to cling to his life by falling into one last dire coughing fit, his warm brown eyes steadily growing colder in his despair.

Daeron just stood aside and watched Meldiron helplessly choking on his own blood, feeling a disturbing amount of gratification that the ancient ellon was now too weak to move himself from his uncomfortable position on his back. And when Meldiron finally took one last gargled breath, before his convulsing body fell limp and completely still against the ground, Daeron took a step closer. He looked down in to Meldiron's face just in time to see the life finally slip away from his ancient, now dead-cold, eyes.

Meldiron was dead.

Daeron just remained rooted to the spot for minutes, looking down at the dead body of Meldiron in a mixture of elation and shock. And then Daeron suddenly found himself panicking at what had just transpired. Had he really just stood back at watched Meldiron die without doing anything to help him? He could have prevented the whole killing from taking place if he had just warned Meldiron when he saw that stray orc appear. But in his split-second decision, he had chosen to do nothing, thinking that the old elf had in fact deserved to die.

_Oh fuck! _Daeron was frantically running his hands through his hair as the nervous sweat began to perspire across his forehead. "Oh fuck, what have I done?" Daeron muttered to himself over and over again, feeling highly disturbed by the cold-hearted being that had just taken joy in watching Meldiron slowly suffocate to death on his own blood. Was this who he really was?! A fucked-up sicko who got-off on death? And the more helpless and desperate the victim, the better?

Daeron fell to his knees as the frightened weeping began to escape his mouth. "Oh Eru, I'm so sorry." He repeated over and over in unbridled sobs, his upper body rocking back and forth as he looked at Meldiron's corpse.

"Daeron!"

Daeron didn't acknowledge his brother's call. He didn't even really hear it. Too lost was he in his dire and desperate pleading to the Valar.

"Oh no. Please, Eru, no!" Legolas dropped to his knees beside his brother. "Please! He can't be dead?!" Legolas cried. "Not Meldiron, please!"

Daeron continued to remain silent. His vacant gaze still fixed on Meldiron's lifeless body. His younger brother's agonising sobs beside him, became just a dull humming noise in the background. The world seemed to close-up around him, making him feel as though he and Meldiron were the only people in it, forever forcing him to look upon, and to acknowledge, the blood on his hands.

xxx

Meldiron was given an honorary memorial, and was buried at the site of his late wife, on the outskirts of Laketown.

Life in Mirkwood had continued on, but there was no mistaking the solemn mood that hung over the whole realm like a heavy, black storm cloud. So many had perished that night in the forest, and so many families had been torn apart by the tragic losses of loved ones.

The orcs had, indeed, stopped their advance on the northern border about half a mile away, but unknown to the elves who waited at the northern border for the impending attack, the orcs had split, with the majority going on to attack the western borders where the least amount of Mirkwood guards had been stationed.

Legolas had been whole-heartedly blamed for this cock-up, with his father berating him for not going out to scout sooner to see why the orcs had stopped in their pursuit.

And tragically, most at the forest feast had also perished, all of them young. Most had been unarmed and unable to defend themselves when the orcs had surprised them on their way to the western border. Horthien had thankfully survived though, the soldier in him, fortunately making sure he was always ready for battle.

And if it wasn't bad enough that many had died that night, including his beloved friend Meldiron, Legolas was now carrying the blame for their 'unnecessary' deaths, as his father had so mildly put it.

Lynwen was also taking Meldiron's death really badly. It had been the hardest thing that Legolas had ever had to do; breaking the dreadful news to her that fateful night. He'll never forget that horrifying wail she'd made after he'd told her of Meldiron's death, before they both collapsed to the floor, holding on to each other for dear life as they cried deeply into each other's bodies.

As always, Legolas wished more than anything that he could protect Lynwen; this time, protect her from the pain that she was experiencing. But frustratingly for him, there was nothing he could do except to just be there for her. But comfortingly for him, she was also being a pillar for him, too, in this most distressing time.

Their relationship only went from strength to strength. They very rarely left each others' sides, always seeking each other out when they were apart. Both Legolas and Lynwen shared a common ground after that night, and that was that they both desperately needed each other. For Lynwen, she desperately needed the intense friendship and companionship, and for Legolas, he only simply, but desperately, needed _her._

xxx

"Where do you see yourself ten years from now?"

A year had now passed since Meldiron's death, and Legolas and Lynwen were still slowly moving forward from the tragedy. It was now March, and the beginnings of Spring was evident in the blooming plant-life surrounding them, and the mild temperatures of the warming sun.

They were both sat on top of the Halls; a place that they had both always enjoyed escaping to ever since Legolas had first brought Lynwen up here a year before. They were watching yet another sunset sink down behind the Misty Mountains in the distance, relishing in the warm breeze blowing at them freely way above the hindrance of the dense forest below.

Legolas thought about Lynwen's question for a moment. Where _did _he see himself in ten years? He was certain he wouldn't be here in Mirkwood, that's for sure! But if not in Mirkwood, then where? And would Lynwen finally be by his side in the manner that he so craved?

"I'm not sure." Legolas answered honestly. "I can't say I've ever really figured out any sort of a plan for my life." Legolas said, thoughtfully. He turned to Lynwen. "How about you?"

"Definitely married with children." She answered with certainty.

"With whom?" Legolas asked with bated breath.

Lynwen turned to look at him with an expression that said 'are you insane?'. "With Elrohir, of course."

Legolas couldn't help but feel extremely disappointed by her answer. But had he honestly expected her to say his own name?! Legolas silently berated himself for being such a fool.

"I just wish I knew where he was." Lynwen said quietly. "It's been one year and eight months since I last saw him. I just hope he's ok." Lynwen looked back out to the sunset, resting her chin upon her bent knees.

Legolas scooted directly beside her, affectionately placing his arm around her shoulders, bringing her into his chest. "Of course he's fine, Lynwen. Trust me, if anything had happened to either of the twin sons of Elrond, we would have heard about it. I'm sure he's just still assisting in the north."

Lynwen sighed as she nestled into her best-friend's embrace. "I'm sure you're right."

Legolas gently rested his cheek upon the top of Lynwen's head as he too, looked out at the setting sun. As painful as it was to his sorry heart, he continued in his attempts to reassure Lynwen. "And I'm certain that he'll arrive back in Imladris and discover your absence, any day now. You watch Lynwen, Elrohir will arrive here in Mirkwood to collect you before the month is out. I'm certain of it!"

...Six Years Later.

March 21st, 3018 of the Third Age.

The large double wooden doors that led onto the corridor to Thranduil's throne room, burst open at an alarming speed and force, startling some passers-by into a shocked fright by the unexpected loud noise. With their hands dramatically held over their hearts due to the sudden scare they'd received, those same passers-by were then abruptly pushed aside by the tornado of a girl that ran through them at an alarming speed, carelessly allowing the large double doors to slam closed behind her.

But Lynwen was too focused on getting to the throne room as-quickly-as-humanely-possible, to be able to acknowledge the poor citizens of Mirkwood that had been physically knocked over by her reckless dash through the Halls.

Just minutes before, Legolas had informed her of a new arrival in the kingdom, not realising the meaning or the consequence that this stranger's name would have on Lynwen. And before he could question as to whom this person was in relation to Lynwen, she had already taken off at a mad sprint.

The large doors to the throne room suddenly burst open with Lynwen tumbling inside in her haste, her loud and unexpected entrance surprising its occupants.

"What on Earth are you doing coming in here without permission..."

But Thranduil's scolding was interrupted by Lynwen's exclamation.

"Estel!"

Lynwen's foster brother stared at her wide-eyed, and in complete shock for a number of seconds, before he raced across the throne room towards her, immediately reaching up to place his hands on either side of her head.

"Lynwen, what are you doing here?! Are you alright?! What's happened?!" His worried eyes desperately searched hers for an explanation as to her unexpected presence here. "Is Arwen alright? Elrohir? Elladan?"

Lynwen's gut wrenched. Oh Elbereth, he had no idea, did he? Lynwen reached up and gently placed her own hands over his, as she sadly looked into his eyes for a number of moments before she slowly replied. "I don't know." She said, completely crushed. "I haven't seen any of them for over seven and a half years."

The confusion was evident in Estel's face as his perplexed eyes rapidly searched hers for an explanation. "What do you mean?" He finally asked.

Lynwen took a deep breath. Although many years had passed, and she knew in herself that she was now a very different person to the Lynwen-of-old, she still felt the need to ready herself for having to be reminded of _that _reason. "Elrond tricked me into coming here with him, not long after you left for the north with Elrohir and Elladan." She began. "And after just a few days of us being here, he left for Imladris during the night while I was sleeping, leaving me nothing but a note as an explanation for his abandonment."

Estel's brows knitted together in anger. "What was the explanation?"

Lynwen took another breath. "That, he didn't want mine and Elrohir's relationship to continue. And that leaving me here would force me to move on with my life. And more importantly, to move on from Elrohir."

Estel lowered his head as he exhaled deeply, his rough hands still gripping the sides of Lynwen's head. "He really will stop at nothing, won't he?" He said, seemingly to himself, than to Lynwen. He then lifted his head back up to look at Lynwen, a determined, angry-looking fire burning in his light-blue eyes. "Go now, and pack your things." He demanded as he gestured his head towards the door. "I'm taking you back home to Imladris." He concluded firmly.

Lynwen smiled widely as she nestled her cheek into the palm of his hand. "It's good to see you Estel." She said softly, suddenly feeling an overwhelming sibling-affection for her foster brother. She felt so emotionally elated at the fact that he was standing right here in front of her. She just couldn't believe it. She was with family again!

"I'll go and pack my things right away." She said, with excitement flashing in her eyes.

Estel gave her a single nod of agreement before dropping his hands from her head, watching Lynwen turn and leave the throne room as quickly as she had entered it.

Lynwen rushed towards her chambers immediately, her heart pounding with anticipation, shock and elation. Finally, after so many years, she was with her family again, and the comfort and familiarity it brought with it, filled her heart with extreme happiness.

And soon enough, it wouldn't just be Estel that she'd be reunited with. Because in no time at all, she'd also be reunited with Elladan, Arwen, and of course, the centre of her entire universe, and the love of her life; Elrohir.

_**A/N: So sorry to all you Meldiron fans, please don't hate me! But to make up for it, Elrohir will be returning in the next chapter! :) :)**_

_**Please, please review! And thanks so much for reading. x**_


	24. Heartfelt Goodbyes and Reunions

_**Warning: This chapter contains sexual content and strong language.**_

Chapter 24 - Heartfelt Goodbyes and Reunions

Lynwen was too caught up in frantically packing up her few belongings, to notice that Legolas had appeared behind her.

"You're leaving." Legolas' solemn words were more of a statement than a question.

Lynwen paused in her packing and turned around to face him, seeing that he was standing in the doorway to her chambers, his arms by his sides as he stood rather rigidly. She looked at him for a number of moments, unsure of how to respond. In her excitement at seeing Estel, and at the fact that after all these years, someone was finally taking her home, she had completely forgotten about Legolas in her ecstatic state of mind. Just by looking at the despair in his eyes as he looked upon her small backpack on the bed, made it evidently clear to Lynwen that he was completely crushed at the prospect that she was leaving. Lynwen took a deep breath and slowly started nodding her head. "Yes, I am." She said quietly.

Legolas tried to hide his hurt by looking down at the floor, aimlessly kicking at something invisible, as he attempted to lighten the mood. "So... that was your brother?" He asked through a forced smile. "He's nothing like I had imagined."

Lynwen only continued to look at him with a sorrowful expression upon her face. He couldn't fool her. They'd been the closest of friends for way too long, and she knew him too well to not be able to see right through this facade he was putting on right now.

"Legolas, I have to go." She simply said.

Legolas' smile faded and he looked down to the floor again. "I know." His voice was barely above a whisper.

Lynwen walked the few steps to where he was still stood in her doorway and placed her hand into his, causing him to look back up at her again. "You know you can come and visit anytime you like! You said yourself, that you love Imladris." She reminded him.

Legolas donned that fake smile again, hoping he was fooling Lynwen this time. Yeah Imladris was beautiful, and it had always been a place that he loved going to. But now, would it still be such a beautiful place to him, knowing he'd have to see Lynwen and Elrohir together there, every time he visited? The simple idea of those two together had been something that he could just barely tolerate, but to see it in person? No, he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to watch Lynwen in the arms of another.

"I don't think it will be so easy for me to leave Mirkwood, Lynwen. With Daeron still missing, my father, regrettably, needs me more than ever."

Legolas was telling the truth. Daeron had, indeed, been missing for the past five years, leaving no clue as to what had happened to him. Something deep inside of Legolas though, was telling him that his brother had left Mirkwood on his own accord, and that he was, in fact, still alive somewhere.

Legolas had been very aware of the disturbing change in his older brother during the two years following that most fateful night that Mirkwood had been attacked. But unfortunately, Legolas had never taken the time to ask Daeron about it.

It had been clear that Daeron had been suffering some sort of trauma following that attack by the way he had became a recluse, always hiding away within his chambers and avoiding any sort of personal interaction with anyone. Gone was the teasing, confident and arrogant brother that Legolas had grown up with, and instead, was replaced with an empty, distant, and haunted shell. And ever since Daeron disappeared one night, five years ago, Legolas had continued to punish himself that maybe he could have helped his brother in some way. Maybe he could have sat down with Daeron and tried to find out what was troubling him? And this was something that Legolas greatly regretted not doing, now.

Lynwen nodded in understanding, knowing how much Daeron's unexpected disappearance had been affecting Thranduil and Legolas. "I understand." She simply said while giving Legolas' hand a small squeeze of reassurance.

They remained silent for a while, their fingers still interlocked as they both remained in quiet thought, both of them wondering how they were finally going to be able to say goodbye to each other.

"You know, I could always come back here to visit you." Lynwen broke the silence with her cheerful suggestion. "It's only a two-week ride. I promise I could even come twice a year, for that matter!"

Legolas smiled warmly at her as his grip on her hand tightened ever so slightly. "Don't make promises that you can't keep, Lynwen." He said in a hoarse voice. "I'm sure you'll be far too busy anyway, to be able to make such frequent trips."

Lynwen looked into his eyes for a number of moments, strangely feeling the pain that he was experiencing at that moment, but in her own heart. They'd been extremely close friends for so many years, but this was the first time that she'd ever felt such an intense connection to him like this. And it made her feel all the more closer to him.

"I'm going to miss you so much." Lynwen said before embracing Legolas in a hug. "Please tell me we're going to see each other again?"

Legolas wrapped his arms around Lynwen's petite frame, bringing her body as close to his, as possible. "I promise we will." He breathed into her hair, as he fought his emotions at having to let her slip out of his life. "I think I'd quite simply die, if I could never see you again." He said in a small breathy laugh, knowing that Lynwen still had no idea as to how true that statement actually was.

xxx

"So you're known as Aragorn, now?"

Estel laughed at Lynwen's bewildered expression. "Well it has always been my name, Lynwen, although I admit, I hadn't always known it. But I don't see the need to hide my true identity anymore. So yeah, now I'm Aragorn." He said with a shrug.

Lynwen thought about it for a moment, with her brow, somewhat, furrowed in confusion. "What made you change your mind?"

Aragorn looked down to the ground as he continued preparing his things and attaching them to the horse he had been loaned by the Mirkwood elves. "Well, it appears that it wasn't only yours and Elrohir's relationship, that Elrond tried to end."

When Lynwen looked at him in confusion, he sighed deeply while dropping his hands to his side. "Elrond also tried to end my relationship with Arwen. He refused my request to marry her, unless I would finally step-up to the mark and accept my true bloodline. He said he would only consider allowing Arwen to marry me if I claimed the throne of Gondor."

Lynwen was shocked. "For you to be the king? Wow, well... will you?"

Aragorn sighed again as he looked off into the distance. "That throne has never been something that I've ever wanted. I had decided long ago that I didn't want that throne, and had been happy to just live out the rest of my life as a ranger. And Elrond knew that. I think he thought that I would never be able to agree to his ultimatum, and therefore, my relationship with Arwen would be over." He looked at Lynwen now, as a sly, but loving smirk spread across his face. "But my love for Arwen will make me do absolutely anything Elrond, or anyone else, will throw at me, so yeah, recognising myself as Aragorn is my first step towards reclaiming the throne of Gondor." He said with a smile.

Lynwen smiled back at him, feeling an immense sense of pride. Her brother was fighting for his love for Arwen, and no obstacle that Elrond put in his way, was going to stop him from marrying her.

Lynwen reached out her hand and laid it upon his forearm. "For what it's worth, I think you'll make a great king, one day."

Aragorn gave a breathy chuckle, his beaming smile lighting up his light-blue eyes with loving warmth. "Thank you Lynwen, that means a lot."

They remained quiet for a moment before Aragorn began to speak. "You know, this will actually be my first time back in Imladris since I last saw you there, all those years ago."

"You haven't been back since?" Lynwen asked a little surprised.

Aragorn shook his head. "No I haven't been back, and this will be the first time I've seen Arwen, Elladan and Elrohir in nearly eight years."

Lynwen frowned at his words as she looked down at the ground, thinking. "Eight years? You haven't seen Elrohir and Elladan in nearly eight years? But, that's about the same amount of time that I haven't seen them for." She looked back up to Aragorn now. "I thought they were with you in the north?"

"They were, but only for a couple of months. They departed for Imladris around the beginning of September of that year."

Lynwen didn't want to believe what she was hearing. "So, they went straight back to Imladris?"

Aragorn nodded. "Yeah that was the plan. They weren't needed anywhere else, and so they said that they were both looking forward to going back home as soon as possible."

So, had they been in Rivendell all these years? Had Elrohir known this whole time that she had been abandoned here in Mirkwood, but did nothing about it? Lynwen mentally shook herself of these horrid thoughts, realising that she was done with speculating. For the last seven and a half years, that's all she'd done, and she was finally through with it. She'd have her answers in a matter of weeks, after her and Aragorn finally walk through the gates of Rivendell. And regardless of her doubts, the excitement and anticipation to see Elrohir again, was utterly unbearable.

Lynwen dropped her hand to her side and straightened up her stance. "Well, I'm ready when you are." She declared with determination, as she adjusted the straps of her backpack on her shoulders.

xxx

"I'm most grateful of your offering to escort myself and Lynwen to the Forest Gate." Aragorn stated his gratitude to Legolas during their second day of travel through the forest of Mirkwood.

The travelling party were all sat atop horses, and consisted of Legolas, Horthien, two other Mirkwood guards, Aragorn and Lynwen; whom were both loaned a pair of horses for their journey through Mirkwood Forest.

Legolas spared a glance at Lynwen who was riding behind him, with her head turned as she busily chatted away to Horthien. Legolas smiled warmly before turning back to face Aragorn.

"You're most welcome, Aragorn. Although sightings have been few, I still fear that there may be unwelcome foes lurking within this woodland, and I will be able to rest easy knowing that Lynwen has made it out of here, safely."

Aragorn silently nodded as he looked back out at the remainder of the cobbled path ahead of them.

"So do you think Mithrandir will be able to get that Gollum creature to talk?" Legolas asked.

Aragorn thought for a moment, as he remembered back to his long journey with Gollum from the Dead Marshes to Mirkwood, and at how the creature had refused to tell him anything. "I hope so." Aragorn said with a sigh. "I captured him just after he had been released from Mordor, and I fear what he may have told them. I've seen the Black Riders roaming the plains in the past." Aragorn said gravely. "Their haunting screeches cut through the air with an icy coldness, that's absolutely terrifying." He continued. "But since Gollum's release, I've seen them more frequently than before, and unfortunately for everyone else, they seem agitated. It's like they're pursuing something, or someone."

Legolas just continued to stare at Aragorn as he hung on the ranger's every disturbing word about the Black Riders. "I have heard tales of them over the years, but I have never seen them, myself." Legolas said.

"You're lucky." Aragorn simply replied.

Legolas suddenly started to feel a little bit of jealously towards Aragorn, at the way the ranger was free to roam Middle Earth without having to answer to anyone. He was a free man, and was not, somewhat, detained as Legolas was in Mirkwood.

Then the familiar feelings of resentment towards his father, Thranduil, started to surface again, for not allowing Legolas the opportunity to grow, and to travel outside of Mirkwood. Well, apart from his few times to Rivendell, that is, but what Legolas wanted more than anything, was adventure! He wanted to see the world, and to see how all these other races that he'd come to hear about, lived. And more than anything, he wanted to help. He'd known for years, after Elrond's visit to Mirkwood, that Sauron was slowly descending his darkness upon Middle Earth, and had always hated his father's point-blank refusal to assist the Lord of Rivendell, in fighting back against the evil.

Well, Legolas had had enough of standing by, and doing nothing, and he was ready to help in any way that he could; especially if it meant that he would finally be free of Mirkwood.

xxx

It took another three days of vigorous travel before they finally reached the Forest Gate, which at long last, signalled the exit from the forest of Mirkwood.

While the others busied themselves by preparing for their journey back to the Halls, and for Aragorn; who was busying himself for the onward journey to Rivendell, Lynwen immediately jumped off her horse and walked towards the weaving archway that would finally allow her the freedom from Mirkwood that she had so craved all these years. Just standing beneath the infamous arch for the first time in almost eight years, brought on an overwhelming sense of emotions that brought a lump to her throat, and tears to her eyes. She had to take a couple of deep breaths to keep her emotions in check, as she continued to look up at the intertwined branches and overgrown ivy that wove itself above her head. If she took just one more step forward, she'd finally be free...

But as she turned her head to look at the group still busying themselves behind her, and made eye contact with Legolas - who was still sat upon his horse, - she knew that she would deeply miss her life here, in Mirkwood. Although in the beginning, her life here had been a misery that she had been so cruelly thrown into, the life that she had since built for herself, and the friends that she had made, actually made her seven and half years in Mirkwood a most cherished time in her life. She'd never forget Meldiron, and his warm and loving friendship. And she would forever cherish the blades that he had gifted her, the advice and guidance that he had given to her, but most importantly, she'd never forget _him_. She had never really gotten over his sudden death, always feeling like there was a part of her that had died with him that night. But suddenly, standing here on the border of Mirkwood, with the free open plains of the Rhovanion just a few feet away, she felt an overwhelming sense of guilt. Guilt, that by crossing over this border, she would be saying goodbye to Meldiron for good, and forever leaving his memory behind.

It was silly, she knew, but she just couldn't help feeling like she was walking away from Meldiron, and wondered now, if this was her finally being able to move on from his death.

So lost was she in her thoughts, that she hadn't heard or sensed Legolas coming to a stand behind her. And it was only when he placed his hands on her upper arms, that she turned her head to the side and acknowledged him.

"I know it's stupid, what with me being so desperate to leave all these years, but... I'm just finding it really difficult to finally cross over this line. I feel that by doing it, I'm abandoning everything that I was, and everyone that I care about, here."

Legolas rubbed his hands gently up and down her arms, as he brought down his chin to gently rest upon her shoulder. "You've grown into a very different woman, Lynwen. Gone is that frail and innocent girl from all those years ago, and instead, is a strong, confident and even more beautiful woman than I could have ever imagined possible."

Lynwen smiled as she playfully nudged her elbow into Legolas' stomach.

"It's true, Lynwen." Legolas spoke quietly, but confidently. "You've definitely changed from the person you once were; but it's a wonderful change, none the less. And it means that you abandoned that person you once were, long before now. So crossing over that border in front of you, isn't going to change who you've already become."

Lynwen crossed her arms and placed her hands on top of Legolas', as she leant back into his tall frame, smiling at his comforting words.

"And as for abandoning everyone that you care about here." Legolas continued. "You are doing nothing of the sort, as I'm afraid that you cannot get rid of me, or Horthien may I just add, that easily. I'm afraid to tell you that I will continue to be a thorn in your side for the rest of your life!"

Lynwen laughed as she turned around to face Legolas. "I certainly hope so!" She said happily.

Legolas only smiled as he gazed upon her, bringing up his hand and placing it on her cheek, allowing his thumb to softly stroke her smooth skin. She truly had grown into a gorgeous woman, whom he would miss dearly. He didn't want her to leave, and still hoped that she would choose to stay here, with him.

But he had to face facts; Lynwen belonged to Elrohir.

"I'm going to miss you so much." Lynwen croaked through an unsteady voice, as she aimlessly started looking around at the trees looming above her, in her desperate attempt to stop the tears from falling.

Legolas smiled warmly as he swept away a stray tear from her cheek with his thumb, before guiding her face to look back at him. By the Valar, how he loved her so much! And it was because he loved her more than anything, that he knew he had to let her go.

"Be safe, and stay close to Aragorn." Legolas spoke through a hoarse whisper against her lips, as his own watering eyes bored into hers. "And I pray that we'll meet again soon, Lynwen." He whispered, his warm breath caressing her face at their close proximity. They continued to look at each other with their hurt and pained expressions for a few more seconds, before Legolas' hand moved from Lynwen's cheek to cup the side of her head instead, as he laced his fingers into her hair. And before he could stop himself, he closed the inch-long gap that was separating them and softly brushed his lips against hers as he tightly closed his pained eyes, forcing a tear to be squeezed from his socket and run down his cheek. And still with his eyes firmly closed, he took a moment to savour in her hot breath, almost sobbing, against his mouth, as he silently wondered how he would be able to live without her.

Their lips only remained touching for a few seconds, and was merely just physical contact as apposed to a kiss, but to the both of them, it had felt truly magical.

And for Lynwen, this 'kiss' had suddenly brought on that intense emotional connection with Legolas, again. During those few seconds that their lips were lightly touching each other's, her senses had instantly ignited, causing her to be able to feel, and savour, the deep passion and hurt that Legolas was currently feeling. It was a strange experience for her, and one that she wasn't used to feeling. And she silently wondered if Legolas was experiencing the same strange sensation, from her?

After Legolas pulled away from her, he opened his eyes to see that Lynwen's were still shut tight, where she was obviously still trying to keep her emotions in check, and seemingly preparing herself to look at him again.

But Legolas only leant his forehead against hers, and began whispering soothing and comforting words that only he and Lynwen could hear, causing Lynwen to involuntarily laugh at intervals as she continued to keep her eyes closed, and relish in the smooth voice that she'd come to love, regale funny memories that they had shared together.

And after silence fell between them again, Lynwen took a deep refreshing breath and firmly opened her eyes. "Ok." She said with another deep refreshing exhale. "Time for me to go."

Legolas merely nodded as he stepped back from her, all the while, keeping his eyes solely focused on her.

Lynwen reluctantly broke the penetrating eye-contact with Legolas, and turned towards Aragorn, who was still busily unpacking his few belongings from the horse he had been loaned, and placing them in his backpack ready to make the remainder of the journey on foot.

"Aragorn, is there anything I can help you with?" Lynwen asked him with some energy in her voice where she desperately tried to deter herself from the upsetting fact that she was leaving behind her best friend.

Aragorn looked up at her and shook his head. "No, thank you Lynwen, all I need is for you to make sure you have all of your belongings, and that you're ready to continue on our journey."

Lynwen nodded as she reached towards the horse she had been using, and un-strapped her small pack. But before she could lift it off the saddle, Legolas quickly took it from her hands and held it out for her, as he proceeded to place it upon her back, like a gentleman would a coat. "Always keep your blades close to you, Lynwen." Legolas spoke concernedly as he settled the straps on her shoulders. "And remember, if you do find yourself under attack, to always keep calm and allow your senses to guide you through the battle."

Lynwen turned to face him with a smile upon her face. "I know Legolas, we've gone over this enough times during our training sessions over the past seven years."

Legolas gave a breathy laugh as he looked down to the ground. "I know Lynwen, I apologise. Just..." He looked back up at her now. "... be safe, ok?"

"I will." Lynwen simply replied, before embracing Legolas in one last hug. "Take care of yourself." She said into his neck, as she inhaled his comforting scent one last time, before she then had to forcefully peel herself off of his body. They looked at each other in silence again, while Lynwen made a couple of attempts to say something, but in the end, decided that there was nothing else that could be said. Anything else that she may have said to him, would probably have set off her emotions again. So she simply smiled, and gave a quick, curt bow of her head, before she swiftly walked over to her brother, not being able to bear to look at Legolas again.

And with that, Lynwen and Aragorn took off through the archway of the Forest Gate, and out into the rolling plains of the Rhovanion, as they continued on the rest of their journey to Rivendell, by foot.

xxx

Aragorn and Lynwen walked for days as they journeyed across the River Anduin, and over the High Pass of the Misty Mountains, before finally arriving at the eastern edge of the region; Eriador, where Rivendell was hidden within its secret valley.

Lynwen had actually thoroughly enjoyed her ten-day long journey with Aragorn, realising that she'd never actually spent so much time with him before. For all of Lynwen's life lived in Rivendell, Aragorn had very seldom been in the realm, for he had long developed a life for himself as a ranger up north, and only very occasionally came home to visit. So Lynwen had naturally developed a much closer relationship with Elrohir, Elladan and Arwen, during her years growing up.

But despite their relationship not being as concrete, these last ten days had actually proved to be most enjoyable. They had both relaxed into each other's company as if they had always been the best of friends. And with their prospective relationships with Elrohir and Arwen being sabotaged by Elrond, they found that they had a lot in common in that respect, as well as the fact that neither of them were blood related to any of the Rivendell family, with both of them feeling, somewhat, like outsiders. And that was something mutually shared between them, that made their relationship grow quite solid during those ten days they spent together.

Then, on the eleventh day since they had set off from the Forest Gate on the eastern edge of Mirkwood, they were finally crossing over the perimeter into Rivendell. The path that Aragorn took into the hidden valley was down an invisible pathway in the surrounding woodland, that led them to a small, inconspicuous opening amongst some boulders. And once they passed through this opening, they then had to walk down a narrow dark tunnel which was about fifty metres long, before sunlight was once again visible at another opening at the opposite end.

"We're here, Lynwen." Aragorn spoke over his shoulder as they finally reached the gap in the opposite end of the tunnel, before stepping back outside into the afternoon daylight.

Lynwen took a sharp intake of breath at the spectacular view of Rivendell, nestled into the valley, below. The thundering sound of the many waterfalls instantly took her back eight years, when this had been her home.

"Are you ready?" Aragorn asked her, as he prepared for his walk down the hillside, and into the city, below.

Lynwen wasn't so sure if she was ready. Standing here now, looking down at the place that had always been her home, suddenly made her wonder if, after nearly eight years of absence, could still actually be classed as home. And she'd been so preoccupied with her reunion with Elrohir, that she hadn't given thought to seeing Elrond again. She doubted very much that he knew she was coming, and suddenly started to panic about what their first meeting in all those years, would be like. She actually still held a lot of resentment towards him, and so she wasn't sure if she would actually want to speak with him, anyway. But there was no way of telling, until she came face to face with him, first.

So she took another deep breath, before she nodded to Aragorn that she was as ready as she could be, before they both began their descent into the city of Rivendell.

As they reached the grand stone archway that symbolised the main entrance into the city, Aragorn turned to Lynwen and asked again, if she was ready. Lynwen responded by pushing Aragorn aside and storming through the archway, herself. Aragorn chuckled at her eagerness, and followed behind her as they walked across the cobblestone walkway that led to the main stone steps that would grant them access to the main residences.

As they both ascended the steps, Lynwen looked around at her surroundings, really taking in the sights of Rivendell for the first time since her arrival. And it hadn't changed one bit. Still, the realm was adorned with perfectly kempt gardens, and were full of colour as the first flowers and shrubbery were coming to life in the early-spring weather. The buildings were still immaculately white, and grander than she had remembered, with their tall pillars, and winding and intricately carved details of animals or figures of importance. The surrounding waterfalls were still thundering away down the hillsides, and glistening under the sunlight as they did so, and the river, below, was still as calm and easy-going, as it continued to flow through the base of the city.

"Hir nin, Aragorn. Welcome back."

Lynwen turned around from where she had been leaning over the stone balustrade gazing at the city, to find that Lindir had appeared behind her, and was now greeting Aragorn.

And as Lindir turned to face the guest that had arrived with Aragorn, his mouth instantly fell agape, and all words were lost on his tongue.

Aragorn silently chuckled at Lindir's reaction, and walked over to stand beside his foster sister. "Hir nin, Lindir, I trust I do not have to introduce Lynwen to you?"

Lindir looked back and forth from Lynwen to Aragorn for a number of stunned seconds, before he finally composed himself, and politely bowed his head in greeting. "My Lady Lynwen, how... surprising it is to see you again. I am not sure that your father is in fact expecting you..."

"No, I imagine he is not." Lynwen interrupted, somewhat satisfied that she had managed to stir this uneasy reaction by returning here. "But it is not Elrond that I am here to see. So if you please, my lord Lindir, where will I find Elrohir, on this fine day?"

Lindir was a little taken aback by Lynwen's steady and forthright attitude. She definitively wasn't the immature, and sometimes rowdy, young girl that he remembered from years ago. No, stood before him was a mature and confident young woman, who appeared somewhat distant, emotionally. Severely cold and hard, even. And the way that she was dressed, only emphasised the, apparently hardened, character that she had become. She was dressed in her usual leggings and buttoned shirt that he remembered she always preferred to wear when she was younger, but the twin blades that were attached to her hips, and the hunting knife protruding from the top of one of her knee-high boots, told him that she wasn't that same innocent girl, he'd known. And her hair; although still undeniably unruly and wavy, was now so long, that the ends of it reached her hips. And the way that she had it pulled back into a messy ponytail, with the length of it draping over one of her shoulders and spanning down her entire torso, also told him that, gone was the regal Lady with impeccable appearance that he had once known, and instead, was now replaced with a rough, untamed, and even warrior-like, woman.

"Um, I believe he retired to his chambers after lunch..."

"Hannon le, Lindir. I will go and look for him there." Lynwen said with a courteous bow of her head, before turning to Aragorn and embracing him in a hug. "I'll see you later." She said to her foster brother with a smile.

"Aye, I'll see you at dinner, I suppose." Aragorn returned with his own warm smile.

Lynwen turned and walked away down the open-air corridor, leaving behind a, still very stunned, Lindir, and a smug-looking Aragorn, as she headed for the bed chambers in search of Elrohir.

Although she knew in herself that she had hardened, emotionally, over the years, - which she had concluded was down to the sudden and tragic death of Meldiron - she still couldn't stop her heart from pounding in her chest at the thought that she was only moments away from seeing the one person who had kept her going these past eight years, and not faltering into a blithering mess. Even though it had been years since she'd seen or received word from him, her longing for Elrohir was still as strong as ever. She still loved him with all of her heart, and just couldn't believe that, after years of heartache and painstaking wondering, she was finally here, outside his bedroom door, knowing that it was only this piece of wood that was now obstructing their long-awaited reunion.

She placed her hand onto the door handle, gently taking a deep breath to steady her erratic excitement and, remembering that she, as his girlfriend, was never required to knock, slowly turned the knob and silently opened the door.

But the beaming smile that adorned her face, soon fell into a stunned and shocked expression at the heart-breaking sight that she was met with.

For lying on his back atop his bed was a naked Elrohir, with a similarly naked elleth straddling his hips; who was fucking the very life out of him!

His eyes were closed, and his mouth agape, as his large hands held onto the elleth's hips, guiding her movements at the faster pace that he required.

And it was when his hands glided up the elleth's body and proceeded to squeeze her breasts, inciting an over-the-top squeal from his most recent fuck, did he then open his lust-filled eyes to look upon his latest conquest. But it was one stray glance over the elleth's shoulder, that suddenly caused Elrohir's face to pale, the look in his eyes to change from lust to sheer panic, and for his body to tense and freeze in an instant.

"Lynwen?!" Elrohir exclaimed in utter shock.

Lynwen only continued to stand rooted to the spot in the open doorway, her blank expression only revealing a little of the devastation and hurt that was currently ripping her heart to shreds.

The elleth, who had stopped in her, rather laughable, bouncing around, just turned her head to look at Lynwen over her shoulder with a smug smirk across her face, but made no effort to move, and just remained straddled atop Elrohir.

Lynwen looked back to Elrohir, - whose upper body was slightly suspended above the mattress where he had frozen in his panicked attempt to sit up - and just stared into his eyes for a number of seconds, with him looking right back at her. This awkward, and deadly silent stare-down between the two of them, was finally interrupted when Lynwen, still without saying a single word, just slowly reached over to grab a hold of the door knob and stepped back out of the bedroom, silently closing the door behind her with a subtle and quiet click.

"Fuck!" Elrohir exclaimed as he pushed the elleth off of him, before scrambling out of the bed in search of his breeches.

"What the hell is she doing here? I thought she was gone for good." The elleth said.

But Elrohir only responded to the elleth by turning around and pointing his finger at her. "I need you the fuck out of here!" He ordered her, before swiftly pulling on his breeches, and frantically fastening the buttons of his fly during his mad exit from the bedroom.

He ran out into the open-air corridor wearing only those dark brown breeches, and nothing more, and paused as he anxiously looked around as to where Lynwen had gone to. Then, as he looked over the balustrade and into the gardens below, he saw her. There she was, hurriedly walking through the gardens and away from the residences.

"Lynwen!" Elrohir shouted after her, causing her to instinctively stop in her walk and turn her head. But the sight of Elrohir stood there, caused Lynwen to turn back around and start at a run away from the house, and away from him.

Elrohir didn't waste another second, and skilfully cleared the balustrade with an effortless leap, and easily landed in the gardens which were some fifteen feet below. And as soon as his bare feet touched down on to the soft grass, he began at a sprint with his long, unbound hair, trailing in the air behind him.

"Lynwen, stop!" He called after her, which only made Lynwen pick up her speed after seeing that he was now pursuing her, as she desperately tried to continue to out-run him.

But unfortunately for her, Elrohir was a far faster sprinter, and he caught up to her in no time, firmly grabbing a hold of her arm to stop her from running. And in that same second, he pulled her arm towards him, forcing her to turn around to look at him.

But Lynwen refused to face him as she proceeded to fight him off of her by flailing her arms, and then attempting to run away again every time she managed to loosen his firm grip on her body. But Elrohir refused to give up his fight, and only continued to grab a hold of her every time she broke free, trying to stop her from running away from him. And he had to use all of his strength to overpower her strong, physical protests, as this intense struggle between the two of them, continued on.

"Get off me!" She screamed, as she violently attempted to remove his vice-like grip from her body.

"Lynwen, please!" Elrohir continued to shout over her yelling, as he struggled to keep her from taking off again.

"Don't touch me!" She screamed, as she continued to squirm in his firm hold, finally breaking her left arm free, and landing a fast left-hook, right into his face. This unexpected punch caused Elrohir to instantly let her go as he brought his hands up to his face and groaned in pain.

"Ai Elbereth, I... I think you've broken my nose." He panted into his cupped hands, as he doubled over slightly.

Lynwen couldn't prevent from being shocked at what she had just done, but instantly stood herself upright and held her head high, as she remained rooted to the spot, looking at him in silence.

After taking a few deep breaths, Elrohir stood upright and removed his hands away from his face, revealing a mass of bright-red blood over his nose and mouth. And then, while taking another deep breath to steady his nerves, he quickly snapped his nose back into place, which incited another pained groan from him.

It was clear to Lynwen after seeing him carry out this painful procedure on himself, that this was not the first time that Elrohir had had his nose broken. In fact, he had snapped it back into place with such precision and swiftness, that she reckoned this process was probably something of a regular occurrence with him.

Elrohir remained stationary for a couple of seconds as he rode out the last of the immense pain, before he slowly lifted his head up to look at Lynwen, with sorrowful eyes.

"I deserved that." He simply said in a quiet voice, as his grey eyes continued to bore into hers, for what felt like an eternity.

Lynwen could feel her hardened facade beginning to fail her, as her painful and hurt emotions began to rise to the surface. She couldn't bring herself to look away from him, as she continued to gaze into his eyes as her own began to fill up with tears; tears that represented all the pain, betrayal, anger, and utter confusion, that she was currently feeling.

"Why?" Was all she could croak out, as a clap of thunder vibrated through the air, rumbling off of the trees and buildings that were nearby.

Elrohir's chest began to rise up and down a little more rapidly as his own emotions began to take control of his body. "I... I don't know..." He run his hand over his face, smearing the blood that had settled there. "I... I thought you weren't coming back."

Another clap of thunder vibrated through the air, followed immediately by a sudden downpour of rain. But still, neither of them moved. Still, they both remained rooted to the spot, and continued to look into each other's eyes as the rain pelted them, instantly soaking them.

"You mean, you _hoped _that I wasn't coming back!"

"No!" Elrohir quickly retaliated with desperation in his hoarse voice. "I thought you had chosen to remain in Mirkwood." He continued. "I thought you had left me." He said quietly.

Lynwen frowned at him. "Why would you think that? Did I not make it clear enough how much I loved you? That you were my whole world, and the only reason for my existing?!" She shouted at him through her anger.

Elrohir gazed into her eyes for another few moments, before he slowly began to nod his head. "Yeah, you did make it clear." He said quietly, almost sounding defeated.

This only confused Lynwen even more. "So, why would you think that I had left you?"

"Because ada told me that you had." He defended himself.

But that wasn't good enough for Lynwen. She had been willing to fight for their relationship after she had been abandoned in Mirkwood, and had even tried to escape the realm in order to find her way back to Elrohir. But he had apparently done nothing to fight for them, and had just simply taken his father's word as the truth.

"And you believed him?" Lynwen asked, amazed.

Elrohir continued to look into her eyes, as his bare chest continued to rise up and down, quite rapidly. "Yes... No... I don't know." He finally said through a heartfelt sigh.

"You don't know?" Lynwen asked in disbelief. "You mean there was a part of you that didn't believe him, and yet you still chose not to come for me to find out the truth?" She asked, exasperated, as her eyes rapidly searched his for some sort of understanding. "He just went and abandoned me there, and you did nothing!" Lynwen couldn't prevent a few of her angered tears from escaping her eyes, as they ran down her cheeks and blended in with the rain that was streaming down her face.

Elrohir looked at her shocked. "I didn't know..."

But Lynwen cut him off. "Nearly eight years, I've waited for you, Elrohir." She sobbed over the loud noise of the heavy downpour and the claps of thunder that continued to echo around the realm. "Eight years!" She shouted through her tears.

Elrohir immediately walked the couple of steps to where she was stood, and made to embrace her in his arms. But Lynwen pushed at his bare chest, causing him to take a step back as she looked at him in disgust.

"Everybody tried to warn me about you." She sneered at him. "All those years ago, everybody tried to tell me that this would only end badly, and that your selfishness would simply result in my heart being broken."

"No, you're wrong!" Elrohir desperately tried to convince her otherwise, as he attempted to wrap his arms around her again.

But Lynwen shrugged him off of her. "Don't touch me." She whispered, as her eyes continued to bore into his with detest. "Don't _ever _touch me." She warned.

Elrohir lost his fight to keep his own emotions in check, as his sorrowful grey eyes glazed over with unshed tears. "Please Lynwen." He said with an emotionally broken voice. "Please, don't end this. I love you." He pleaded.

But Lynwen just snorted a fake laugh. "You're asking me not to end this?" She asked. "But Elrohir, it was _you_ who ended this when you chose to believe Elrond all those years ago, instead of seeking me out and demanding the truth from me, in person. And it was also _you_ who ended this when you went ahead and just fucked somebody else! Because I doubt very much, that that slut up there has been the first, in the last eight years!"

Elrohir just shook his head, as he continued to fight back his emotions, and deny Lynwen's accusations. "No." He firmly said. "I honestly believed that you had wanted out..."

"Bullshit!" Lynwen interrupted him with fury. "I think it was _you _who wanted out of this relationship, Elrohir, and Elrond just gave you the perfect excuse to do just that!" She took a couple of deep breaths, before calmly continuing on. "You're a very messed-up person, Elrohir, and are seemingly incapable of holding down a relationship, even with someone who you claim to love."

"I do love you, Lynwen! More than anything, I swear to you!" Elrohir shouted in desperation.

But Lynwen only shook her head. "Maybe you did, I don't know." She said with a sigh, as she looked down at the sodden ground. "But I do know that I can't bear to look at you anymore."

Elrohir quickly reached out and grabbed a hold of Lynwen's arms in his desperate attempt to keep her from slipping away from him; both physically and emotionally.

But Lynwen simply shrugged him off, again. "And I can't bear for you to touch me either." She stated rather coldly, as she brought her head back up and continued to stare at him. "I only wish I had heeded their warnings years ago, and saved myself this agonising heartbreak." She said, her stern voice, once again faltering to her emotions.

Elrohir just continued to look back at her with his tear-filled eyes, as the rain proceeded to pound them, causing his long black hair to be completely saturated and to stick to the bare skin of his torso. "I love you." He whispered with a hoarse voice, as his emotions began to crack. "Please, Lynwen, you must believe me." He begged.

But Lynwen just shook her head again as she looked down to the ground. "I'm done believing anything you have to say, Elrohir." She croaked through her broken voice, before lifting her head back up to look into his eyes again. "I'm done." She simply concluded, before she turned and walked away from him.

Elrohir just remained rooted to the spot, as he helplessly watched her leave. He _did _love her! Always had, and always would.

But she was right. He was messed-up, and was unable to hold down any relationship. He knew that Raina; that horrible bitch who had ripped his heart to shreds two thousand years ago, had a huge part to play in his reluctance to get too close to anyone, again. And what he had had with Lynwen all those years ago, had been much more intense, and filled with so much more love than any other relationship he'd had in his whole life, and at the time, that immense intensity had simply terrified him. He had never loved anyone as much as he had, and still, loved Lynwen, and that thought alone, had scared the shit out of him.

Lynwen was right. Although he had never admitted it to himself before this very moment, he _had _wanted out of that relationship, and his father had given him the perfect excuse to do just that. But he regretted that decision more than anything now.

Now, seeing her again, instantly brought back all that intense love he had always felt for her, but had always tried to hide away from.

But he wasn't going to hide from it anymore. He wasn't going to be terrified that his fragile heart could end up getting broken again. No, he was prepared to sacrifice his very own life in order to win Lynwen back.

She had been the best thing to have ever happened to him, and there was no way he was going to lose her without a fight.


	25. The Family Feud

_**Just want to say a huge thank you to the 'guest' reviewers, and to 'Tess' and 'Sarah' too! Thank you so much, and I hope you all continue to enjoy this story!**_

_**Ok, strong language throughout this chapter, guys.**_

Chapter 25 - The Family Feud

After spending some much needed time alone down by the river, Lynwen started to make her way back to the main house, wondering if her old room had still been kept for her.

The rain was still lashing, and Lynwen was completely soaked through. Her few layers of clothes were completely saturated and stuck to her skin, and her feet were uncomfortably squelching in her boots. And all she desperately wanted in that moment was a hot shower, a warm comfortable nightgown, and a bed to just curl up in.

Thankfully, on her way to her old room, she didn't bump into anyone; the rain seemingly, keeping everyone indoors. And what she was even more thankful for, was upon opening the door to her old chambers, she found that her old room was in fact, still, her old room. Everything was exactly how she had left it nearly eight years ago, and had remained completely untouched.

The same lime-green curtains that she'd picked out when she was little, were still hanging at the window. The same ghastly bright pink throw that she had also chosen as a child, was still laid atop her bed covers. And the shelves and wooden surfaces around the room were still strewn with her pieces of junk; cosmetics, lotions, little ornaments, and even her beloved teddy bears that had been acquired throughout her childhood days.

But a leering glance at one particular shelf, instantly brought on that immense, and gut-wrenching hurt in the pit of her stomach again, when she saw all the various little trinkets that Elrohir had gifted to her during her childhood. There they all were, on proud display on the opposite side of her room, just giving her a constant reminder of the ellon who had just completely broken her heart.

These small gifts that she had accumulated from Elrohir during the first five years of her life, were a mixture of tiny carved wooden animals, to random coloured and pretty looking stones, to little - too small for practical use - jewellery boxes. Up until the time he had left for the expedition, Elrohir would always bring back a little gift for Lynwen, whenever he would go out on patrol to the outer borders, or whenever he had to make a business visit to a neighbouring town. And she knew that most of these wooden animals, he had actually carved himself!

And these gifts, no matter how small or simple they were, had always meant the world to her, and had always managed to make her feel close to him somehow. She had even taken a small selection of these gifts to Mirkwood with her so that she'd feel like she had Elrohir close to her, in some way.

But now, these things were nothing but a painful reminder that the ellon whom she had always trusted wholeheartedly her entire life, was nothing but a fraud. He had led her to believe that he had truly loved her, and that he had wanted to spend the rest of his life with her; even if that meant him possibly dying of a broken heart after her death!

But it had all been lies.

That bastard had wasted eight years of her life! Eight years she had spent waiting for him, when he had been busy shagging his way through Rivendell! Eight years she had remained faithful to him! And for what? To just be made to look like a complete idiot? Because that's how she felt. She now felt so stupid for believing that Elrohir; the most desirable ellon in all of Rivendell, could actually have remained faithful to her for all these years. Even after all the warnings that Elladan and Arwen had tried to give her in the past, she still went ahead and believed that he had changed. That he was capable of remaining with only one woman. And that _she _had been that one woman.

Lynwen slowly closed the bedroom door behind her and firmly bolted the lock in place. She turned back around and just remained standing in the same spot for a good ten minutes, staring at the deadly quiet and long-time undisturbed bedroom, in silence. She just stared. Every single object in this room told a story of various periods of her young life; some of them happy, some of them sad. But regardless of the type of the memories, this room displayed the whole first chapter in her life nonetheless, just like the words and illustrations of a novel. Because that's what the first eighteen years of her life felt like now; the first chapter, to which she had since read on much farther into that book, with that first chapter of her life being nothing but a distant memory.

She didn't belong here. She realised at that very moment, that the girl who had once occupied this room, was not the same girl who was standing here now. No, the girl who was standing here now, had seen and experienced so much in the last eight years, making that first chapter in her life seem so insignificant now. She felt so out of place here, feeling nothing more than a spare part that no one in Rivendell would ever find any use for. Elrond didn't want her; he had made that clear all those years ago. And now, Elrohir; the only person in Rivendell who had apparently wanted her, now, seemingly, did not.

She wasn't welcome here anymore, and had arrived completely uninvited. She was all alone in this realm, even more so than when she had been a child, and she needed to leave.

But where would she go? Back to Mirkwood? She knew Legolas would welcome her back with open arms, but still, it wasn't a place that she desired to live.

Lynwen let out an exasperated sigh as she cut her depressing thoughts short, and headed for the adjoining bathroom, relieved to have found that some of her old leggings and shirts were still neatly folded up in the drawers. And just feeling the hot water from the shower pound her cold, bare skin, made her feel much more revived. And much more determined.

A knock on her bedroom door around an hour later, disturbed Lynwen from her distant and empty stare out of her bedroom window, and prompted her to stand. She remained on the opposite side of the room, just staring at the door. What if it was Elrohir? She just couldn't bear to be anywhere near him right now. And what if it was Elrond? He had surely heard of her return to the realm by now, and maybe he was seeking her out. And he was someone else who Lynwen did not want to see, either.

Then the knock sounded again, followed by a familiar, and comforting voice. "Lynwen, my dear. Are you in there?"

It was Anira, her former handmaiden.

Lynwen felt instant relief at hearing her voice, and walked across the bedroom and unbolted the lock, before opening the door.

Anira looked upon her with such warmness and compassion in her eyes, as her ageless face broke out into a wide smile. "Look at you! You've grown up so much, Lynwen!"

Lynwen found the strength to smile for the elleth who had almost been like a mother to her, growing up. "Hello Anira, how are you?"

Anira continued to gaze lovingly at Lynwen for a number of silent moments, before she eventually answered. "I'm fine. Myself and Arandur finally got our child." She said with a huge smile, as she spoke of the birth of her and her husband's long-awaited child. "A healthy baby boy, and still only a year old!"

Lynwen smiled widely too. "Congratulations Anira, I'm really happy for you."

Anira's smile faded after a few moments as she looked down to the ground. "And how are _you_, Lynwen?" She asked quietly, before looking back up to meet her gaze.

Lynwen just shrugged stoically, not really wanting to get into the ups and downs of her life right now. "Yeah, fine. Nothing really happening."

But Anira just smiled subtly as she reached out and took a hold of Lynwen's hand. "My dear, you always were such a terrible liar." She smirked. "Whether it was the lies you kept telling me that one particular summer when you were three years old, about whether you had been eating chocolate..."

"I hadn't!" Lynwen instinctively responded, with a smirk of her own.

But Anira just laughed. "Lynwen, you had it smeared all over your face!"

Lynwen laughed too, remembering that particular period where Elrohir used to keep stealing chocolate for her from the kitchens.

"Or..." Anira continued. "...whether it was the lies you kept telling me when you were seventeen, when it was pretty clear that Elrohir had been sharing your bed,..." Anira said with a raise of her eyebrow. "... I always knew you were lying. And it seems, you still haven't acquired the knack for it. You still are a terrible liar." She said with a knowing smile, which caused Lynwen to chuckle slightly while looking down at the ground.

"Now, are you going to invite me in so that we can have a talk about what just happened between you and Elrohir?"

Lynwen's head snapped back up at Anira with a shocked expression on her face. How did she know? Had news of their row spread that fast? Or maybe that tart that Lynwen had just found him with, had taken joy in spreading the gossip that Lynwen was a loser for believing that Elrohir had remained faithful to her all these years.

"Lynwen, I know because I've just seen Elrohir." Anira said, easily reading Lynwen's expression. "And he's in a terrible state." She continued.

"Good." Lynwen responded immediately, with venom in her voice.

Anira sighed heavily as she looked around, cautiously looking to see if there were people nearby. "Can I come in, Lynwen?" Anira asked again, as she looked back to Lynwen.

Lynwen just nodded her head in agreement, as she stepped aside and allowed her old handmaiden to enter.

"Lynwen." Anira began, once Lynwen had closed the bedroom door behind them. She then sighed heavily after turning around in the middle of the room to face Lynwen, a genuine smile gracing her lips. "You really have grown up so much! Such a beautiful woman." Anira took a moment to look her up and down again, while shaking her head. "I just can't believe how much you've changed."

"You haven't." Lynwen said with a warm smile.

Anira laughed. "Yes, well that's the blessing, _or the curse_, of immortality." She said. "I think I probably still look exactly the same as I did four thousand years ago, just after I reached my majority." Anira said thoughtfully with a smile upon her face. But Anira's expression then dropped to something more serious as she looked at Lynwen. "And it was just one thousand, five hundred years after that, that I was appointed to my very first job within this household; as handmaiden to Lady Arwen."

Lynwen already knew that Anira had once been handmaiden to Arwen, and also knew that this was Anira's subtle way of beginning her talk about Elrohir.

"Being with Lady Arwen so often, meant that I also spent a lot of time with her brothers, meaning that I got to know Elladan and Elrohir, very well. Even when they were only a few hundred years old, the differences between them were very evident. They're so identical, yet so different at the same time." Anira said with a chuckle.

Lynwen walked over to her bed and sat down on the edge as she continued to listen to Anira talk.

"And even at such a young age, that Elrohir was still as much of a feral ellon as he is now!" Anira said with a smile. "That's why he and Elladan have always worked very well together. Their opposite personalities compliment each other so well. And of course, Elladan has always been there to drag his troublesome brother away from troublesome situations."

Lynwen smiled at Anira's words, remembering so well what the relationship between Elladan and Elrohir, was like. Even though the brothers quarrelled quite often, as most siblings do, it was clear to all that their relationship was solid and completely unbreakable, with both of them always looking out for each other. Although it was usually the very sensible Elladan that did most of the looking out for the extremely unruly Elrohir, Lynwen thought with a smile.

But immediately that smile faded from her face as she painfully acknowledged Elrohir's betrayal, just a few hours before.

"But although Elrohir has forever been a rather wild character, he's always had such a huge and loving heart." Anira continued. "A heart which was completely crushed, and very nearly broken when Raina left him. You've heard about Raina, have you not?" Anira asked Lynwen, to which Lynwen only nodded a silent yes.

"Yes, well, I watched as Elrohir completely and utterly devoted himself to that elleth. He trusted in her so much, that he willingly handed over his heart to her, believing that their relationship would never end, and that they would be together for eternity. But of course, as you already know, she left him, deciding that she was going to sail, while making it very clear that she wouldn't be waiting for him when he finally decided to sail, himself."

Lynwen already knew this story, and frustratingly wondered where Anira was going with this. "Yes, I know all of this, Anira. But what does Raina have to do with Elrohir's betrayal to me?"

Anira walked over to the bed and sat herself down next to Lynwen, placing her hand onto Lynwen's knee. "I saw how deeply in love Elrohir was with Raina. And even in the thousands of years after she had gone, I had always believed that I had witnessed the extent of Elrohir's love for another being, because I could not imagine it would ever be possible for him to be able to love someone else as much as he had loved her." Anira looked at Lynwen. "But that was until he fell in love with you." She said.

Lynwen sighed in annoyance. "He never loved me, Anira."

But Anira quickly interjected. "Oh he did, Lynwen." She said with certainty. "And not only was he in love with you, but he had actually fallen for you so much harder than he ever had for Raina. And knowing Elrohir like I do, the poor ellon was so petrified of having his heart broken again, that he decided to push you away, instead."

_The poor ellon? _Was Anira seriously defending him? "He led me to believe that we had a future together, Anira. He allowed me to wait around for eight years, remaining completely loyal to him, while he was just here with... well who knows how many there were! If he truly loved me as you say he did, then he wouldn't have put me through all that." Lynwen said in frustration, as angered tears started to blur her vision. "You know, all of my life I've always been warned to look out for strangers, orcs and various other foes that could potentially hurt me," Lynwen said as she looked down to the floor, her voice now more quiet. "but not once did I ever think that it would actually be Elrohir that would be the one to hurt me the most." Lynwen lifted her head up and looked across to the other side of the room as she rapidly began to lose control of her emotions. "He's hurt me so much, Anira." Lynwen said as she brought her hand up to her heart, the tears now freely running down her face. "I trusted him with my life. I trusted him with my heart. And now I just feel so betrayed." She said as she began to sob heartedly into her hands.

Anira firmly pulled Lynwen into an embrace, forcing her to rest her head on her shoulder. "Shh, I know Lynwen." Anira consoled with a gentle voice, as she softly stroked her hair. "I know you did, Lynwen. And I wish I could take this pain away from you, really I do." Anira placed a kiss on the top of Lynwen's head before resting her cheek there. "I know Elrohir has hurt you deeply, and for that he deserves a bloody good bollocking! And when I just found out what had happened, I was prepared to carry out that bollocking, myself. And I would have, if you hadn't already broken his nose."

Lynwen couldn't prevent a sudden and uncontrolled laugh to escape her mouth, as she remained cuddled up against Anira's shoulder. "Oh Valar, you know about that?" She asked, feeling a little embarrassed now, by her earlier outburst against Elrohir.

Anira laughed too. "Yes, turns out Elrohir didn't do a very good job at fixing his nose, and I was there when your father had to re-set it for him."

Lynwen noticeably stiffened at hearing Anira's words, the brief smile that had adorned her face, was now replaced with a resentful and hard expression. "He's not my father, Anira." Lynwen stated coldly, and simply.

Anira sighed as she tightened her embrace on Lynwen, but chose not to respond to that statement, knowing that starting a conversation about Elrond would only be futile. Instead, she decided to redirect the topic of the intended conversation back to Elrohir. "Lynwen. The point I've been trying to make is that I know Elrohir has wronged you and has hurt you in an unimaginable way, and I don't condone his actions in the slightest, but..."

"But what?"

Anira sighed again as she tried to find the right words. "But, the change I saw in Elrohir while he was with you, was wonderful. For the last couple of thousand years he's been unable to allow himself to love, or even care about anyone else. But with you... well, you changed him, Lynwen. And you changed him for the better. You brought life back to him again, made him see that there is true love in this world when he had lost all hope that it ever existed. When he was with you, he was happy again, and I mean truly happy. Content. There was light in his eyes again, and a purpose to his life. You're good for him, Lynwen, and personally, I believe that you two are meant for each other."

Lynwen thought about Anira's words for a few moments. "I thought so too." Lynwen agreed solemnly. "But he's just proved that it was all a lie."

"No Lynwen. As I explained before, he was so deeply in love with you that it frightened him. Now I'm not trying to make excuses for what he did, but I want you to try to understand why he did what he did. I can tell you now that he deeply regrets pushing you away, and he really is in a terrible state."

Silence fell between them for a while as Anira allowed Lynwen to take in her words before she spoke again. "He's never stopped loving you, Lynwen. That intense love he felt for you has never once faded." Anira took a deep steadying breath. "And I fear for what may happen to him now." Anira finished off quietly.

Lynwen knew what Anira was getting at. Anira was fearing for Elrohir's, supposedly, fragile heart causing him to fade if this relationship didn't work out. But how could their relationship ever go back to the way it was after this? And Lynwen wasn't sure if she would ever want it to go back to the way it was, anyway. Elrohir had hurt her in the worst way imaginable. All the trust she had held in him, he had snatched away. All the dreams she had built for the two of them over the past eight years, were now gone.

Lynwen knew that Elrohir had issues, but she wasn't sure if she now wanted to be the one to help him out with those. Even though she still loved him with every fibre of her being, she wasn't even sure she would ever be able to look at him in the same way again, and doubted that she would ever be able to readily hand over her heart to him again.

xxx

It was now early evening, and Lynwen was walking down the open-air corridors of the realm towards the dining room. Her lengthy conversation with Anira only added to the emotional strain on her body, making her feel even more defeated and lethargic than she did after her encounter with Elrohir this afternoon.

Aragorn was currently escorting her to the dining room, after he had refused to accept her desire to want to remain locked away in her room. Lynwen had told him what had happened that afternoon with Elrohir, and although he seemed disappointed, Aragorn actually didn't seem all that surprised by Elrohir's actions, which only made Lynwen feel like even more of an idiot. Clearly she had been the only one to have thought that Elrohir had ever been capable of being faithful to her.

"Where's that fiery woman I met in Mirkwood a few weeks ago?" Aragorn had asked her in her room around half an hour before. "That woman that would face her troubles head on? That woman who would have no problems in addressing the people who have wronged her? Well, that's exactly what we're going to do right now. We're going to face them. Together." He had said firmly, not giving Lynwen a choice in the matter.

And so here they were, standing outside the dining room door, both preparing themselves a little before entering. But as Aragorn placed his hand on the door handle, Lynwen quickly placed her hand on top of his, firmly stopping him.

"I'm not sure that I can do this." She said quietly. "I really don't think I can face him. Not yet. And Elrond. I don't want to see him, either."

Aragorn dropped his hand to his side and looked at her square in the eye. "You _can _do this Lynwen." He said sternly. "I know you can. Don't hide away. You've done nothing wrong." He said confidently.

Lynwen just nodded her head in agreement while exhaling a long breath. Her stomach was doing somersaults at the thought that they were all behind these doors; the Rivendell family that she had once been a part of. She should have been feeling excited about seeing Elladan and Arwen again, but the betrayal that she had experienced at the hands of both Elrond and now Elrohir, only made her feel detest towards the whole family. As unfair as that was to Elladan and Arwen, Lynwen just couldn't help it. She felt betrayed and pushed out by all of them. And once again, she was asking herself '_What am I doing here?' _She didn't belong here anymore. It was as simple as that.

"And you're forgetting." Aragorn interrupted her thoughts. "I haven't seen Elrond either, since we arrived in the realm this afternoon. So you're not on your own."

Lynwen just smiled, but secretly knew that it wasn't the same. Aragorn hadn't been dumped and abandoned by Elrond so cruelly. And Elrohir also hadn't just ripped his heart to shreds, a few hours before. But she remained silent, appreciating Aragorn's attempts to make her feel better.

"And," Aragorn spoke up again. "although Elrond has probably heard of your arrival back into the realm, I doubt very much he is expecting you to show up to dinner this evening. So you have to go in there, just so I can see the stunned expression on his face!" Aragorn said with a grin.

Lynwen laughed a little. "Yeah, I suppose if it's as entertaining as Lindir's expression earlier, then it'll be worth it!" She chuckled, trying to hide her nervousness.

Aragorn placed his hand on the door handle again. "C'mon." He said as he swiftly opened the door without giving Lynwen another chance to protest.

The dining room door opening alerted Elladan, Arwen and Elrond, causing the three of them to look up from the table. Arwen immediately beamed from her sitting position, while Elladan and Elrond both stood from their seats and walked around to the front of the table to greet Aragorn with open arms, and smiles upon their faces.

But after their warm greeting at ended, Aragorn turned around to look at the dining room doorway, forcing the others to do the same. And it was at that moment that Lynwen chose to enter. Although she was hesitant about seeing them again, she held her head up high and walked towards the dining table with confident strides, silently grateful that Elrohir was not present.

Elrond's face instantly dropped to a stunned, slightly open-mouthed, expression, which secretly gave Lynwen a sense of satisfaction. Aragorn was right. Clearly, Elrond had not been expecting her to show her face this evening.

But Elladan was the complete opposite. An enormous smile broke out across his face just before he brought up his hand to cover his mouth in his shocked state. "Oh Valar! Lynwen!?" He exclaimed, his eyes wide. He dropped his hand and, with his huge smile still spread across his face, he quickly walked the few steps to where she was stood and embraced her in his arms, lifting her feet up off the ground in the process. "I can't believe it!" He said into her hair as he held her tightly to him. "When did you get back?!" He asked her excitedly as he set her back down on the floor.

Lynwen was a little taken aback by Elladan's greeting, and just remained stoic and expressionless. "Just this afternoon." She stated flatly.

Elladan looked to his father in surprise. "Did you know she was here?"

But Elrond only responded by stepping towards Lynwen, his previous stunned expression now replaced with a warm smile; which Lynwen couldn't determine was genuine or not.

"Hello iell nin (my daughter)." He said, placing his hands atop her shoulders before he gently pulled her into his chest as he embraced her in a hug. Lynwen just froze in his embrace. She hadn't prepared herself for any physical contact with Elrond, and she felt immensely uncomfortable, with the hatred she felt for him only escalating rapidly.

Her reaction didn't go unnoticed by Elrond as he was clearly able to feel her body stiffen in his hold, which saddened him greatly. He knew at the time, when he had decided to leave her behind in Mirkwood, that he was risking their father-daughter relationship. But it was only now, at this very moment, that his worst fears had been confirmed as true; Lynwen resented him.

Elrond reluctantly released his hold on her and took a step back, but still kept his hands rested upon her shoulders. "It's good to have you home." He said softly, that warm smile still on his face.

But Lynwen's expression didn't change from her stoic one, as she coldly shrugged his hands off her shoulders. "I'm not so sure that I would class this as home anymore, Elrond," She said frostily. "but it's good to see you, nonetheless." She lied.

Her forthright and curt attitude, and the fact that she had said 'Elrond' instead of 'ada', didn't escape everyone's notice, causing a thick uncomfortable fog of awkward silence to weigh down on the entire room.

But Arwen was the one to break the silence when she stepped in front of her father, with that beautiful smile always adorning her fair face as she wrapped her arms around Lynwen. "Muinthel (sister), I'm so happy to see you again." She said as she pulled back slightly from the hug to look at her younger sister. "Wow, you've grown up into such a beautiful woman!" Arwen exclaimed, as she took Lynwen's waist-length ponytail in her hand, letting it slide through her fingers. "And your hair has gotten so long! And, wow, those knives are gorgeous!" She said, pointing to the twin blades that seemed to be permanently attached to Lynwen's hips in recent years. Everyone looked down, with Elladan and Elrond clearly showing concern at how heavily armed she was.

"Muinthel," Elladan said with his brow creased in worry for his younger foster sister. "You are quite safe here, you don't need to arm yourself like this." He said as he gestured to her weapons.

Lynwen looked down to her twin blades at her hips, and her hunting knife sticking out of her boot as she shrugged her shoulders. "I've grown to feel much more comfortable having them on me at all times." She said, before lifting her head to make direct, and icy, eye-contact with Elrond. "Mirkwood is a dangerous place, and is always under threat from attack. And after a pack of orcs tried to rape me during my first month in the realm, I quickly had to learn how to defend myself." She said coldly as her stern eyes continued to bore into Elrond's.

Elladan and Aragorn noticeably stiffened in anger at her revelation of almost being raped by orcs, as Arwen gasped into her hand. But Elrond only looked heart-broken, as his ancient eyes looked back at hers with a silent plea for her to forgive him.

But she answered his plea by looking away from him in disgust. She would never be able to forgive him for what he did to her. And she hoped that she wouldn't have to endure his, Elrohir's, or anyone else's company from Rivendell for much longer.

"Did they manage to touch you?" Elladan's voice was low, and frighteningly hostile, as his jaw visibly flexed from the rage souring through his veins.

"Elladan, I don't think now is the time to discuss this..."

But Lynwen just interrupted Elrond as she answered Elladan with a straight forward, "Yes."

Elladan's chest began rising rapidly as his breathing rose out of control. "What happened to them?" He asked through gritted teeth.

Lynwen looked at Elladan, studying him for a few moments as she watched the fury radiating off of him in waves. It was obvious for all to see right now; Elladan's pure hatred for orcs. And she knew that Elrohir was exactly the same as his brother. And hearing about what happened to her, seemed to be only igniting Elladan's detestation towards the vile creatures as it probably only brought back the memory of what happened to his mother.

"Legolas killed them." Lynwen answered simply.

"How did he kill them? Did he make them suffer?" Elladan asked in a level tone, as if he was simply asking about the weather. But his eyes were alight with pure hatred and a burning desire; probably a desire to want to kill the orcs, himself, Lynwen surmised.

"Elladan!" Elrond scolded his son. "We are not talking about this now. Do I make myself clear?!"

Elladan kept his eyes fixed on Lynwen, as he reluctantly and slowly nodded his agreement at his father. But it was obvious that he was no less calm as he continued to work his jaw, while he looked at Lynwen with a mixture of regret, worry, and concern flashing in his eyes.

Elrond sighed heavily as he rubbed his hand across his forehead. "Maybe we can all sit down now, and finally enjoy this evening's meal as a family?"

Lynwen flinched at the word 'family', but decided to quietly sit down at the table with everyone else, and try to get through this meal as quickly and as civilly as possible. At least Elrohir wasn't here, she silently thought to herself.

But, as if some higher power somewhere was toying with her emotions and thoughts, Elrohir chose that exact moment to enter the dining room and put to bed any feelings of relief she had been momentarily experiencing.

And just like Elrond, it was clear by the way in which he just suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, that he too wasn't expecting Lynwen to show up to this meal tonight. All that could be heard in that moment of awkward silence, was the dining room door closing shut, as Elrohir took another second or two to just look at Lynwen from his position half way across the room.

"Elrohir?" Elrond called out from the head of the table. "Are you going to join us?"

Elrohir snapped out of his shock, and began to walk towards the table, his steps now much more slower, reluctant even. As he reached the table, he instinctively went to sit in the empty seat beside Elladan; who was to the left of Elrond at the rectangle table. But as he pulled the empty chair out from under the table, he hesitated, before looking across to the other side. He saw that Arwen was sitting to the right of his father, meaning she was sat directly opposite to Elladan, and that Aragorn was sat next to her, meaning that if Elrohir sat in this chair, he would be sitting directly opposite to his foster brother. Now usually this wouldn't be an issue for him, but just seeing the woman who still, and always would, have a firm grip of his heart in the palm of her hand, made him ache with longing, and to want to sit as close to her as possible. He loved her more than he ever thought was possible, and his life felt empty and bleak without her. It was no good, the more he tried to push her away, the more he realised that he needed her. He just couldn't function without her. He even felt like it would be impossible for him to ever be able to breath without her! And the way that she had looked at him this afternoon; with nothing but hatred and loathing etched into those beautiful blue eyes that were engraved into his mind twenty-four hours a day, simply tore him to pieces. He couldn't stand to think that she detested him, when he loved her so much, it hurt. It actually hurt, at how much he loved her!

_Well fuck what she thinks of me, I need to be close to her. _Elrohir thought to himself, as he tucked the middle chair back under the table, and sat down in the chair directly opposite to Lynwen instead.

"Bloody hell, Elrohir!" Elladan exclaimed to his brother, causing Elrohir to look at him. "What the hell happened to you!?" He asked, shocked by the two prominent black eyes that Elrohir was sporting.

Elrohir dropped his head shamefully before he looked back up to face Lynwen opposite him. He just looked directly into her cold, hard eyes, while his own eyes openly displayed the sorrow he was feeling. Oh how he wished he could take back what she had witnessed this afternoon in his chambers. He hadn't even liked the elleth Lynwen had found him with. She had simply been an easy and quick fuck, and nothing more.

Elrond cleared his throat uneasily. "I don't think that's a topic for discussion at the dinner table, Elladan..."

"Lynwen rightfully broke my nose." Elrohir said as a matter-of-fact.

Silence. The incredibly uncomfortable awkward silence had returned to the dining room once again. Elladan and Arwen were looking at Lynwen shocked, while Elrond was looking at her with his silent pleading for forgiveness still etched into his eyes, as Aragorn just uncomfortably looked down to his dinner plate.

But Lynwen didn't acknowledge any of them, as she just continued to look right back at Elrohir, while trying to hide the surprise she was feeling by his sudden admittance of what had happened earlier today. But her surprise was quickly turning to anger at the way in which Elrohir was looking at her. He was looking at her like he actually gave a shit about the hurt in which he had caused her today. Like all that bullshit declaration of love he had spieled to her eight years previous, wasn't a total lie. Despite what Anira had said to her earlier, Lynwen still had her doubts about him, and now he was looking at her like he was still in love with her, or something. Well what ever it was, it was pissing Lynwen off big time! So she just broke the eye-contact with him, and started to pick food from the centre of the table, deciding not to acknowledge all the stares or expectances of a response to Elrohir's statement.

Light conversation about general topics were, sensibly, chosen for discussion for the next half an hour or so, although Lynwen and Elrohir didn't participate in the pointless chatter, once. They both continued to remain silent, as Elrohir proceeded to stare at her from across the table, while Lynwen tried her hardest to ignore the eruption of fury that his gaze was causing her. She tried to look anywhere but at him, but his penetrating stare felt like it was boring holes into the side of her head, making her unable to ignore it. And it was seriously pissing her off! She continued to try to ignore him, until she just couldn't take his pretending-like-he-actually-cared-about-her stare, any longer.

She slammed her fork down onto the table with a loud clatter, startling everyone, but Elrohir. "What the fuck are you staring at?!" She shouted as she looked directly at him.

Elrohir didn't flinch, and only continued to look at her with a sorrowful expression.

"Mind your tongue!" Elrond shouted at her. "I will not hear you use that foul language again!" He scolded loudly.

Lynwen turned her head to look at Elrond, her eyes like slits as she looked at him with disgust. "And who the fuck are you, to tell me what to do?" She sneered at him.

Elrond immediately straightened up his posture as his face filled with rage, both of his hands coming down and loudly slamming on the wooden surface of the table. "I AM YOUR FATHER!" His voice infuriatingly bellowed around the room.

Lynwen stood up from her chair at a lightening speed, causing it to fall backwards and crash on to the floor behind her, as she whipped out the hunting knife from her boot and firmly planted the tip into the centre of the table. Her hand was holding the handle in a death-grip, as her hate-filled eyes looked right at Elrond.

"_YOU _ARE NOT MY FATHER!" Lynwen shouted in response, as she took a moment to watch the stunned look on his face. "You lost the right to call yourself that, the day that you _abandoned _me in Mirkwood." She sneered through gritted teeth.

Elrond felt like he had been stabbed through the heart. Hearing Lynwen say that, simply crushed him. And the way that she was eyeing him up and down like he was diseased vermin, like he was something truly disgusting that she was struggling to be in the company of, only destroyed him further.

"No, _Elrond," _Lynwen spat out and emphasised his name, before continuing on with a level, and chilling voice. "_my _father was a brave and courageous man, who willingly sacrificed his life so that I could survive. He and my mother died, protecting me against orcs." She looked him up and down again, slowly. "I'm just saddened that I had to grow up calling _you _'father', instead of _him_."

And that was it. Lynwen broke Elrond with that last sentence. All he could do was sit there in silence as he struggled with the lump forming in his throat, and the pain searing in his chest.

But Lynwen wasn't finished. She pulled her knife out of the table and stood upright. "My family is dead." She stated simply and coldly, as she tucked the knife back into her boot. "_My _family died when I was only a few months old." She looked around the table at everyone sitting down, hating all of them, except Aragorn. Her eyes then suddenly turned cold and hard with a flash of anger, as her face screwed up into a harsh scowl. "In fact, what the fuck am I still doing here!?" She shouted in fury to the entire table, with a raised gesture of her arms before dropping them back to her sides. She looked around at everyone's stunned and even regretful looking faces for a few moments, before quietly continuing. "None of you are my family. You never were, and you never will be." She said with a subtle shake of her head as if only realising this fact for the first time. She then quickly righted herself and bowed her head professionally as she gestured to her plate. "Excuse me, please. I think I've had enough." And with that, Lynwen stalked out of the dining room, slamming the door shut on her way out, with the loud noise of the slam making Arwen close her eyes and grimace in her seat.

A dead silence returned to the table with everyone unable to find any words to speak. But after only a few moments, Aragorn spoke up. "I think I've had quite enough, too." He said in a cold tone, that clearly showed his anger towards the rest of the family for their treatment towards Lynwen; specifically Elrond.

Arwen placed her hand on Aragorn's forearm as he stood from his seat, furiously throwing his napkin down on to his plate. "Estel." She pleaded with her angelic voice.

But Aragorn only held his hand up to silence her while shaking his head, making it clear that he didn't want to talk. He then turned and exited the dining room without saying another word, also slamming the door closed behind him, the loud noise inciting another grimace from Arwen.

Arwen looked around at her twin brothers and father nervously, wondering how they could all even begin to fix this with Lynwen. But before she could say anything, Elrond suddenly stood from his seat, the scraping noise his chair made on the floor, snapping the siblings out of their thoughts. "I believe that I have had quite enough, too." Elrond said quietly as he rubbed his forehead with his hand, his eyes not doing a very good job at hiding the hurt he was feeling at hearing Lynwen's cut-throat words.

"Ada." Arwen sighed in protest as she reached out to grab Elrond's arm. But Elrond just cupped her cheek as he forced a fake smile onto his weary face. "I'm just a little tired, iell nin. I just need a little lie down, is all." And with that, he dropped his hand from her cheek and left the dining room quietly, not slamming the door closed behind him, which Arwen was thankful for.

Arwen sighed as she looked around at all the food still adorning the table, and the unfinished plates left on the placemats. "Maybe we should pack all of this up so as it's not wasted..."

But she was cut off by Elladan snarling at his brother. "Well I hope you're pleased with yourself."

"Fuck you!" Elrohir shouted back at Elladan.

But Elladan just gave a fake breathy laugh as he threw his fork down onto his plate. "Yeah, you're good with that word, aren't you Elrohir; Fuck. It's all you seem to know how to do; whether you're fucking some poor woman, or whether you're fucking somebody over," He turned to face his brother to the side of him, his expression showing his anger. "it's what you do best!" Elladan stated simply.

"Oh fuck off, Elladan!" Elrohir shot back as his own anger began taking over his body at an alarming speed and force. "You're as much to blame for this shit, as I am!"

Elladan tilted his head back and laughed loudly before facing his brother again. "And how do you work that out?"

"Well, I don't ever remember seeing _you _making the trip to Mirkwood to retrieve Lynwen." Elrohir shot back, lamely.

But Elladan's face changed to a harsh scowl as his clenched fists rested on the table in front of him, as he looked at his brother with his eyes like slits, and his jaw flexing from his rage. "Well I wasn't the one _fucking _her, was I?" He stated through clenched teeth.

"Elladan!" Arwen exclaimed in shock at hearing his vulgarity.

But Elladan didn't acknowledge his sister, and only continued looking at his brother with pure loathing.

Elrohir didn't respond and only looked down at his plate, his chest rapidly rising up and down as he tried to steady his rising temper.

Elladan looked him up and down in disgust. "Yeah, you've really gone and done it this time, Elrohir. You've fucked up, big time! But now, it seems as though your fuck-up has cost myself and Arwen our relationship with Lynwen, too." Elladan stood from the table, angrily pushing his chair back behind him, and walked towards the dining room door. But not before he patted his brother on the shoulder. "Nice one, Elrohir!" Elladan said sarcastically.

"Just go and fuck yourself, Elladan!" Elrohir shouted after him from his seat.

"Oh, just piss off, Elrohir." Elladan shouted back, before exiting the dining room and slamming the door closed.

Arwen winced in her seat again from the loud noise of the door, wondering if that was finally going to be the end of it. She wasn't sure her nerves could take any more. But Elrohir suddenly shooting up from his seat, causing the chair to slam back on the ground behind him, made her realise that the family feud was still not over.

"Where are you going?" She asked after he began walking away from the table and towards the door.

"Pissing off." He answered her over his shoulder before he too, exited the dining room and slammed the door closed behind him.

That final slam was probably the biggest yet, and even though she tried to brace herself, the loud noise still made poor Arwen jump in her seat. She looked around at the empty chairs - some of which were toppled over on to the floor - and just sighed to herself. She remained seated for a minute or so, before she slowly stood up and began collecting up all the plates, and tidying up the mess that everyone else had left behind.


	26. Head Over Heart

_A huge thank you to 'Tess', 'Kathryn', 'Anna', and 'guest' for your lovely reviews! :)_

Chapter 26 - Head Over Heart

The next morning, Lynwen was stood down by the river, basking in the warm April sun. Her eyes were closed and her face was tilted up to the sky, relishing in the heat warming her skin. She had been down here for the past hour, just trying to sift through all the thoughts that were fighting around in her head, causing her brain to hurt.

She opened her eyes when she sensed that someone was stood behind her, and so she quickly spun around to see who it was. And when her eyes landed on that person, she instantly flinched at who she thought it was, and considered making a run for it. But after just a split second of hesitation, she realised her mistake and exhaled in relief.

Elladan held up his hands in a surrender-like fashion, as he smiled a little hesitantly at her. "I think that's the first time in your life that you've mistaken me for Elrohir." He said softly.

Lynwen couldn't help but to smile at his remark, for he was right! Growing up amongst the twins meant that she had always been able to tell them apart very easily. But the fact that she just mistook him for his brother, told Lynwen that Elrohir was clearly taking up too much of her thoughts right now.

Elladan dropped his hands to his sides as he made a step towards her. "Lynwen," he said through a heartfelt sigh. "Lynwen, I'm so sorry for everything. I swear to you I didn't know what ada had done until last night. He told us that you had chosen to remain in Mirkwood."

Lynwen looked down to the ground as she aimlessly kicked at a stone with her foot. "Yeah, no worries. Elrohir already told me that."

Elladan sighed heavily at the way in which she wouldn't make eye contact with him, as he silently wondered how he would ever be able to fix this with Lynwen. He wasn't lying when he had said that he had had no idea what had really happened to her until last night. But thinking back to that day now, almost eight years previous, he silently berated himself for being such an idiot for believing his father. Of course Lynwen wouldn't just choose to remain in Mirkwood. Why would she? She had been madly in love with Elrohir, and she had made it clear that she had never wanted to be apart from him.

He looked at her now, and felt utterly guilty for what she had had to endure over the last eight years at the hands of this family. And he hated to see how much she had changed, too. Not that he had anything against women who wanted to learn how to protect themselves and learn how to use a weapon, but with Lynwen, he knew that that had just been a necessity in order to survive. And the thought of his wonderful and innocent foster sister being so cruelly thrown into that barbaric lifestyle, upset him greatly.

"Lynwen, I… I don't even know how to begin to make this better. All I can say is that…" Elladan let out another sigh, prompting Lynwen to look up at him. "…is that, I hope you'll give myself and Arwen another chance. We've both missed you greatly, and I swear to you that neither one of us knew what really happened."

Lynwen just looked at him, almost feeling sympathy for the sincere and sorry look on his face. He looked completely crushed by what had happened, which made Lynwen feel nothing but guilt for the things she had said at dinner last night. She knew deep down that she could never bring herself to hate Elladan, or Arwen for that matter. Both of them had always been so loving towards her growing up, and it had actually been those two who had tried to warn her about Elrohir all those years ago. And heartbreakingly for her, she had chosen to ignore them.

Lynwen took a step towards him, closing the gap between them even more. "I apologise for what I said at the dinner table last night, Elladan." She said, as she looked him squarely in the eye. "I never should have said those things. And the truth is, is that I know I will always think of you and Arwen as my brother and sister. And I'm sorry if I hurt you."

Elladan smiled as he looked back at her. It was a huge relief to hear her say this, for he had braced himself that his relationship with her had been forever severed. "Don't ever be sorry for that, Lynwen. If anyone is sorry, it's me." His smile faded to reveal a regretful and serious expression. "I should have seen that ada was lying all those years ago." He said through an exhale. He then slowly lifted his hand up to softly graze her cheek as he looked at her affectionately. "You've grown up so much, Lynwen." He said, taking a moment to truly take in her appearance for the first time since she had returned to Rivendell the day before. He took a deep breath and sighed heavily. "I only wish I had been there to watch you grow into the stunning woman you are now." He said sadly, feeling utter regret and hurt that that wish had been taken away from him by his very own father.

Lynwen smiled as she leant her face into his hand, knowing that she would forever love Elladan and Arwen as her brother and sister. None of this had been their fault, and she intended to make sure that her relationship with them didn't suffer as a consequence. She only hoped that what happened between her and Elrohir, didn't cause Elladan and Arwen to feel torn between their brother and foster sister. She would never want them to ever be put in that awkward situation, and she made a silent promise to herself that if that was to ever happen, she would instantly back away, allowing Elladan and Arwen to have a comfortable relationship with Elrohir, instead. He was, after all, their _true_ sibling, she reminded herself.

Lynwen closed the gap between them and softly wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face into his chest. "I missed you so much, Elladan." She revealed into his tunic, as she closed her eyes and allowed herself to momentarily let the walls that she had so carefully built to safeguard her emotions over the past eight years, to crumble slightly, trusting Elladan wholeheartedly with her feelings.

Elladan immediately wrapped his muscular arms around Lynwen's small frame, pulling her tightly to him. "Aye, me too, Lynwen." He whispered into her hair, as his arms tightened their hold on her ever so slightly. "Me too." He sighed sadly.

xxx

As the months passed, and September arrived, Lynwen had reluctantly remained in Rivendell. Aragorn had left the realm not long after they had arrived together back in April, saying that he had a task to complete at the request of Mithrandir; the great Grey wizard whom Lynwen had heard so much about during her lifetime, but as yet, still had not met.

Of course Lynwen had immediately asked Aragorn if she could accompany him on this venture, wanting to leave Rivendell as soon as possible. But regretfully he had declined, saying that it was far too dangerous. Lynwen had tried her hardest to convince him that the fighting skills that she had obtained in Mirkwood would ensure that he wouldn't need to worry about her safety. But unfortunately, her protests had been to no avail. And so, for the past five months she had remained in Rivendell without him.

But, the past five months hadn't actually been too bad, because thankfully, Elrohir had been absent from the realm during that time. In true Elrohir style, he had taken off in a flash on that particular night five months previous, after that disastrous family dinner the day that Lynwen and Aragorn had returned to Rivendell. And he had been gone ever since.

The only problem that remained for Lynwen, was Elrond. Being the Lord of Rivendell, he of course had no intentions of leaving the elven city. And so Lynwen had had to work hard over the past five months, trying her damnedest to avoid any sort of interaction with Elrond at all costs. This meant that she no longer attended any of the family meals, and instead, dined alone in her room, or with Anira at her place. Lynwen wasn't sure if she had even said more than two words to Elrond since that dreadful meal five months before.

But despite her efforts to avoid Elrond, her relationship with Arwen and Elladan had only strengthened. She spent a lot of time with Arwen, and with Elladan whenever he wasn't on patrol, and neither one of them ever mentioned their father or Elrohir in front of her; to which Lynwen wasn't sure if that only made things more awkward for the three of them.

Anira had also become a constant in her life again, fussing and mothering over her just like she used to when she had been her handmaiden. But secretly, Lynwen enjoyed the maternal attention, feeling such a strong craving for a mother figure during this most misplaced and lost time in her life. Plus, Lynwen had fallen absolutely head over heels in love with Anira's baby son, Ainion, and was always asking if she could take him out for the day, to which Anira was always more than happy to allow! And although he was the most adorable being that Lynwen had ever lied eyes upon, the little monster was also a great distraction for her. Just being with Ainion, and hearing his infectious giggles, allowed Lynwen to instantly switch all her negative thoughts into positive feelings of joy.

The summer warmth was still lingering in the early autumn air as Lynwen sat underneath a tree, contentedly bouncing the happy baby boy on her knee as he gurgled and giggled at her. The sky was clear and bright blue, with the afternoon sun warming the pleasant and small breeze around them. Everything was perfect in that moment. Everything was perfect, until Lynwen heard a voice that she hadn't heard for five whole months.

"You're so good with him."

Lynwen reluctantly turned her head to the side to see Elrohir standing there. He was wearing his usual dark clothing, which consisted of black breeches, black knee-high boots, a dark-green shirt, and a black woollen cape. His long black hair was pulled back into a single plait, which was draping over his right shoulder. The way in which he was dressed, told Lynwen that he probably hadn't long returned from wherever it was he had been all this time. And the nervous way in which he was standing, uncomfortably shifting his weight from one foot to the other, told Lynwen that he was obviously feeling apprehensive about her reaction to seeing him.

And so he should be, Lynwen thought to herself, as she simply ignored his statement and turned her head away from him, focusing her attention back to Ainion; who was now happily blowing bubbles with his saliva.

But Lynwen's body froze as she felt Elrohir sit himself down next to her, before he reached out to lightly take a hold of the baby's hand in his fingertips. "Hello, little fella." Elrohir said in a playful tone of voice, which incited an inquisitive gurgle from Ainion as he looked at this fascinating new arrival to his day. Elrohir chuckled at Ainion's, somewhat, startled expression as his huge baby eyes scanned Elrohir's face, eagerly taking in this interesting new person.

"He's beautiful." Elrohir said with a wide smile, as his fingertips gently bounced the baby's arm up and down while he continued in his baby-talk to an overly intrigued Ainion.

Lynwen just looked at Elrohir out of the corner of her eye in complete bewilderment. Is he serious, right now? Is he really sat here acting as if nothing has happened? As if everything is all fine and dandy? And as if she actually wants to be within a hundred miles of him, right now?

Elrohir caught Lynwen's deathly stare out of the corner of his eye, causing him to gently let go of Ainion's hand while looking back at Lynwen with a sorrowful and nervous expression.

"What are you doing here?" Lynwen asked him irritably.

Elrohir only continued to lock eyes with her, wishing more than anything that Lynwen's beautiful blue eyes didn't look at him with the detest that they were currently displaying. The hate that she seemed to be holding for him, only intensified the pain in his heart that had been a constant for the past five months.

He looked down to the ground looking deflated. "I needed to see you." He said quietly.

But Lynwen only continued to look at him with a resentful stare. "Well you managed ok without seeing me for the past five months, and well, let's not even talk about how you managed just fine for the eight years before that!" Lynwen said bitterly. "So what's changed?" She asked sternly.

Elrohir looked up at her, cringing slightly at the sarcastic and acid tone in her voice. But of course, he knew he deserved every syllable of it. And he hated himself so much for fucking things up between the two of them, but more so for the hurt that he knew he had caused her. And he only wished that he could take that hurt away from her, where he would gladly suffer it himself so that she wouldn't have to feel it anymore.

"Lynwen, I don't blame you for hating me…" Elrohir trailed off with a deep sigh as he rubbed his hand across his face. He looked out to the trees in front of them, finding that all words had escaped him. How could he even begin to repair the damage that he had caused between them? But he did know one thing, and that was that he needed to make sure that Lynwen knew the truth about what it was that she had walked in on five months previous.

"Lynwen," Elrohir started again as he turned to face her. "I need you to know that what you saw in my chambers… that elleth… well, she was the only one. In fact, not only was she the only one, but _that_ was the only time." Elrohir said, allowing a few moments of silence to let Lynwen process what he had just told her. "Lynwen, I know that this doesn't make things right, but…" He sighed deeply while rubbing his hand across his forehead. "… well, it just kills me to think that you believe I've been sleeping around with numerous women these past eight years, because it's simply not true."

Lynwen couldn't deny that she was completely shocked by this revelation. She had been utterly convinced that he must have been partaking in a Rivendell shagathon during her absence from the realm. But apparently not. Apparently that slut had been the only one, _and_ the only time?!

"You mean, the last person you had been with before her… was me?" Lynwen asked in disbelief.

Elrohir nodded, as he looked directly into Lynwen's eyes. "Yes." He said surely.

Lynwen wasn't sure how to take this surprising piece of information as she looked down to the ground. He was right in that this revelation of his didn't repair the damage, but it did help to lighten the load, somewhat. But even though he had stayed celibate during the time she'd been in Mirkwood, he had still abandoned their relationship when he had made the decision not to go there for her. And whether he still loved her or not, made no difference to Lynwen because her trust in Elrohir had completely gone. She didn't think she'd ever be able to trust him with her heart again.

Lynwen brought her head back up and made eye-contact with Ainion; who was currently tugging on the few strands of her hair that had fallen loose from her ponytail. Lynwen couldn't help but to smile at the gorgeous baby boy whom she had developed such a soft spot for over the previous months. But she chose to remain silent, not really knowing how to respond to Elrohir right now.

Just seeing Lynwen smiling at him, instantly made Ainion beam his own toothless grin right back at her, inciting a genuine laugh from Lynwen as she brought him into her chest and gave him a huge loving cuddle.

"You're going to make such a wonderful mother, one day." Elrohir said, as he beamed at Lynwen and Ainion together.

But Lynwen's happy mood instantly changed to anger at hearing his words, causing her to turn her head to stare venomously at Elrohir beside her. "Do you honestly believe that there's a man out there who's going to want _me_ to bear his children?" She seethed in fury. "Do you honestly think that anyone in their right mind is ever going to want to marry _me_? The girl who had sex with her brother? The girl who was snubbed by Lord Éomer of Rohan? And the girl who was even snubbed by her very own 'father', the infamous Lord of Rivendell?" She shouted in frustration, causing Ainion to jump in fright. "No, Elrohir. You ruined any chances that I may have had to happily settle down with someone, when you took advantage of my trust all those years ago, and selfishly took away my innocence. I'm damaged goods, Elrohir. And no man would ever want someone like me to bear his children."

Elrohir quickly reached his hand out towards Lynwen, attempting to wrap his arm around her, but Lynwen aggressively shrugged him off of her. "Don't!" She warned him in a serious tone.

"Lynwen, please." Elrohir reached out to her again, firmly placing the palms of both of his hands on her cheeks and sliding his fingers back into her hair.

"I said 'don't'!" Lynwen shouted as she whipped his arms away from her with her own, causing Ainion to jump uneasily again as his usual good humour started to turn into small whimpers of fright. "You're upsetting him!" Lynwen accused Elrohir, as she brought a now full-on crying Ainion to her chest.

"I'm sorry." Elrohir pleaded, as he quickly re-positioned himself to his knees. "I'm sorry." He then repeated in a panicked tone to Ainion.

"Shh, there, there." Lynwen soothed while she placed a few gentle kisses on to the baby's head. "I think I should go." Lynwen then said curtly as she stood up from the ground, still cradling Ainion in her arms before beginning to walk away.

"Bear _my_ children!"

Lynwen stopped dead in her tracks at hearing Elrohir's shouted words from behind her. And after a moment of stunned silence, Lynwen slowly turned around to face him, finding that he was now also standing, and was looking at her with a mixture of hope and longing etched into his emotional grey eyes. He walked up to her, coming to a stop a mere few inches in front of her as he continued to stare into her eyes with heart-stopping intensity, completely revealing to Lynwen, every emotion that he was currently feeling.

"You are the only woman on this Earth who I want as the mother of my children." Elrohir said much more quietly, but with so much confidence behind his words that Lynwen thought that she felt her heart momentarily stop.

"Only you, Lynwen." Elrohir softly continued as he reached up his hand and tucked a piece of stray hair behind her ear, but he continued to stare at her, never breaking the penetrating eye-contact. "It's only ever been you, Lynwen."

Lynwen felt her emotions suddenly betraying her, as she closed her eyes and reflexively leant her face into his large palm, completely forgetting how much Elrohir's touch could ignite every desire within her. Just feeling his fingers slide into her hair, and his masculine scent invade her senses, instantly put Lynwen back into a sense of ease. Just feeling him, smelling him, hearing him, was comforting. It was familiar. It felt like she belonged. And it was a feeling that she had missed so much in the last eight years, that she just couldn't bring herself to walk away from him just yet. She didn't want to love him, for he had hurt her too much. But she could feel deep inside of her heart at how much she still felt for him, even if she didn't want to admit it to herself.

But just feeling his familiar warm breath tickling her lips at that moment, instantly reminded her why she wanted to hate him. She wanted to hate him for forever ruining these intimate moments they used to share together. She wanted to hate him for ruining the sensation of his lips being a hair's breadth from hers; a feeling that she always used to love. She wanted to hate him for how his caressing touch instantly made her remember all the intimacy that they didn't share together, anymore. And she wanted to hate him for ruining the best thing that had ever happened in her life; him.

She subtly started to shake her head while keeping her eyes closed. "No, Ro." She said in a whisper, trying to build up the courage to step away from his comforting touch.

But Elrohir didn't remove his hand from her cheek, and only continued to caress her skin with his thumb, with his lips still hovering so close to hers. "You called me 'Ro'." He acknowledged softly with a warm smile pulling at his mouth.

Lynwen shut her eyes even more tightly as she tried to ignore his warm breath tickling at her lips. "It doesn't mean anything." She whispered.

But Elrohir ignored her comment, knowing that she was only trying to kid herself. He leant forward some more, closing the small gap between them but stopped just short of kissing her. Their noses were softly touching, as he lightly grazed his lips across hers. "I love you, little one. I love you so damn much." He said in a small, pained sounding voice, as his fingers pushed back into her hair, holding her head more firmly in place.

Lynwen's chest was rapidly rising up and down. The anticipation of his kiss was taking over her body, making her blood soar and her heart pound. "Don't call me that." She said quietly, her eyes still shut tight. "Not anymore."

But Elrohir only acknowledged her words by gently placing his lips upon hers, giving her a soft, lingering kiss.

Lynwen wanted to pull away, but his lips felt so right upon hers. It was like their mouths had been made for each other. And it felt so familiar, so comforting, to feel him like this. For the couple of seconds that the kiss lasted for, Lynwen felt at home. For five months she had felt completely lost and unwanted. But right here, in Elrohir's hold, with his full, soft lips pressing against hers, she finally felt like she belonged, again.

"Bah!" Ainion ended the kiss with his playful shout, as he smacked Elrohir and Lynwen over the head with his two little hands.

Elrohir chuckled as he looked to the baby boy; who had stopped in his crying, and was now just laughing as he bobbed his little body up and down in Lynwen's arms.

But Elrohir immediately stopped in his chuckle when he looked back to Lynwen. She wasn't laughing, and was only looking at Elrohir with a troubled expression on her face, which worried him greatly.

"I have to go." Lynwen quickly said as she hurriedly started to walk away from him.

"Lynwen, wait." Elrohir pleaded as he took a hold of her hand, stopping her.

"No, Elrohir, I… I don't… we shouldn't…" But Lynwen stopped in her protest when Elrohir placed his hands on either side of her head, coming to a standstill directly in front of her.

"Please, Lynwen. I beg of you, don't walk away." He said hoarsely as his panicked grey eyes bored into hers.

Lynwen looked back up at him for a number of moments as she fought with the emotions that were fighting to come to the forefront of her heart. But she knew that she had to listen to her head this time. She looked directly into his eyes, wishing more than anything that things could be different between them. But she couldn't bring herself to hand over her fragile heart so willingly to him again.

"I'm sorry, Ro." She said quietly. "But it's over."

Elrohir looked like he had been stabbed in the chest. His face paled and a sheer panic that Lynwen had never seen in him before, flashed through his wide eyes. He started shaking his head as his hands tightened their grip on her head. "No. No, you just need more time, that's all." He said in an anxious tone. "I thought five months would have been enough, but I can give you more time. More space. That's all you need, little one, and then everything will be alright between us."

But Lynwen just stepped backwards, and out of his hold, causing his hands to drop to his sides. "No, Ro." She said in a small broken voice as her emotions began to take over, making her eyes water.

Elrohir let out a small panicked cry as he began raking his hands through his hair. "I know I'm fucked up, Lynwen. I recognise that. And I'm working on it, I promise you. I know I have issues with commitment. I think I'm afraid that any woman I get close to, will just end up leaving me." His frantic actions with his hands were pulling his hair free of his plait. "First there was Raina, then there was my mother…" He looked to Lynwen now, seeing that his rapidly crumbling demeanour seemed to be making her uneasy. "I'm sorry Lynwen. I… I didn't mean to scare you."

"You're not scaring me, Ro." Lynwen assured him gently. She took a deep breath now, hating the way he seemed to be so affected emotionally, but knew she needed to bring herself to walk away from him for good. "But, I'm sorry. It's over, Ro." She said with finality, before she slowly turned from him, and quickly walked away, ensuring that she didn't look back at him once for fear of not trusting her heart to willingly take him back if she did.

xxx

"Lynwen, dear, could you please keep an eye on the new patient in the guest quarters, this afternoon?"

It was now late October, and Lynwen was helping Anira out with her nursing duties on this sunny autumn day.

"Yes, no problem, Anira." Lynwen replied, as she continued to sterilise the sheets in the boiling pot within the utility rooms.

Thankfully, Elrohir had kept his distance from Lynwen over the past month, only throwing her the occasional pained look across the gardens or courtyard if they had happened to cross paths with each other. She hated the way in which he looked of late; pale, sad, deflated. She had never seen the mighty Elrohir look like this in all her life, and it tugged at her heart strings every time she saw him. But she had to remain strong. She didn't think she could ever go back to him. Not in the way that he wanted.

"I'd like to take Ainion out for the afternoon, but that new patient can't be left alone. Your fathe… I mean, Elrond, confirmed that the patient had suffered some very dark trauma, and he needs to be notified it there is any change."

Lynwen nodded her understanding, cringing slightly at the way in which Anira had corrected herself when she had almost said 'father'. "Yeah that's fine, Anira. But isn't the patient sleeping?"

Anira nodded. "Yes, but it's no normal sleep, dear. He's in a very dark place, and even in his unconscious state, he still needs to be monitored for any changes to his mood. And Elrond must be notified immediately if there are any changes, or if he wakes."

Lynwen continued to stir the bedding around in the boiling pot, as she thought about the tiny new patient that had unexpectedly arrived with Glorfindel just a few days previous. "What's his name, Anira?"

"Baggins." Anira answered from the other side of the room. "Frodo Baggins."

xxx

Lynwen had spent the entire afternoon with Frodo; a small man that belonged to a race called hobbits. To look at him, you'd think that he was only a small human child, so Lynwen had been shocked to discover that he was actually an adult of fifty!

Thankfully he hadn't stirred all afternoon, and his breathing had remained steady, which meant that she didn't have to go and report anything to Elrond. She wasn't sure that she was ready for any sort of interaction with him, yet.

It was now dusk and there was very little daylight left as the night time began to dim the sky a navy blue. There was a chill in the air as the autumn evening gave way to the comings of winter, and Lynwen wrapped her woollen cloak around her tightly as she walked down the empty open-air corridors towards her chambers, concentrating on looking down at the ground as she tried to navigate her way through the poorly lit walkways.

"Hey, you."

Lynwen spun around at hearing the unexpected voice coming from behind her, and had to narrow her eyes to be able to make out a tall dark figure leaning casually against one of the pillars a few feet in front of her. And as soon as the mystery person began laughing at her, Lynwen didn't need her eyes anymore to know who it was, for she knew exactly who that uplifting laugh belonged to.

"Legolas!" Lynwen exclaimed ecstatically as she strode over to him, firmly wrapping her arms around his neck as she embraced him tightly.

Legolas picked her up and spun her around excitedly before placing her feet back onto the ground, inciting a laugh from Lynwen as she pulled her head back from their embrace to take a look at him.

"What are you doing here?" She asked with a beaming smile upon her face.

Legolas smiled in response as he affectionately began to brush her hair back from her face, before bringing his eyes down to meet with hers. He took a moment to just look at her, taking his time to inhale and absorb everything about her. By the Valar, how he had missed her! He'd been counting down the days until he would be able to look upon her beautiful face again, and now finally, here he was.

He placed his hands at the small of her back as he continued to hold her closely to him. "Oh, it's a long story." He sighed, but the smile at seeing her again, never left his face.

"Well, whatever the reason, I couldn't be happier that you're here!" She said as she buried her face into the crook of his neck, re-wrapping her arms around his tall frame. "I missed you so much!"

Legolas nestled his cheek onto the top of her head, bringing his arms up to wrap around her upper back, and squeezing her as tightly as he could without hurting her. "Aye, I missed you too." He sighed, feeling utterly content to have the woman he loved, back in his arms again.

_**You can now follow me on my new Facebook page, where I'll be updating the progress of my stories, and posting pictures of characters, etc. The direct link to this page is in my Fanfiction profile.**_


	27. The End of a Friendship?

_Lol to 'Tess'! Yeah, how awesome would a threesome be? Only I would have to request that it would be me with Legolas and Elrohir, and not Lynwen ;) Thank you so much for continuing to read the story! :)_

_**Just to let you all know, I have created a new Facebook page where I'll be regularly updating the progress of my new chapters, and posting photos of characters, etc. I just feel that it's quite limited with how much we can interact on here, and so that's why I created the Facebook page. So feel free to come and bug me, or just simply visit. The link is on here, on my Fanfiction profile.**_

_**Ok, a warning that there's sexual content and strong language in this chapter.**_

_And, Raider-K, this one's for you! And I hope the long-awaited kiss doesn't disappoint... :/_

Chapter 27 - The End of a Friendship?

Lynwen noticeably shivered as her and Legolas continued to lay on the ground within the woodland that belonged to the realm of Rivendell. They had been lying there on their backs, gazing up at the stars through the sparse canopy of trees ever since they were reunited a number of hours before.

"You're freezing." Legolas said concernedly as he took a hold of one of Lynwen's hands. "Your fingers are like ice!"

Lynwen chuckled as she turned her head to the side to look at him.

"What's so funny?" Legolas asked, his brow scrunched up in confusion.

Lynwen laughed some more. "I'd actually forgotten about your incessant fussing."

"But you _are_ freezing!" Legolas defended, as he brought both of her hands to his mouth, where he proceeded to blow hot air onto them. And after a few seconds of that, he still wasn't satisfied, and so he promptly sat up and swiftly removed his cloak. "Here." He said, laying it over Lynwen like a blanket.

Lynwen just looked up at him, smiling affectionately at the way in which he was fussing over her. Although she hated attention of any sort, she couldn't deny that she quite enjoyed being attended to by Legolas. But she couldn't explain why. All she knew was that his concern for her regard, had her stomach knotting in a way that she hadn't experienced in years. But it felt wonderful.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Legolas asked her, pulling Lynwen out of her daze. She re-focused her eyes to find Legolas laying on his side, supporting his upper body with his elbow, and gazing down at her.

Oh Elbereth, he was so beautiful. Even in the dim moonlight Lynwen could clearly see his ice-coloured eyes shining with warmth and affection as he gazed at her, which only made her stomach do somersaults even more.

"No reason." She finally replied, unable to bring herself to look away from his stare.

Legolas smiled, before laying himself back down onto his back beside her. He felt so happy, so content in this moment, that he just didn't want this night to end. It had been him who had suggested coming to the woodland this evening, for growing up in Mirkwood, he felt at his most comfortable amongst trees. But what Legolas didn't want to admit to her was that the woodland also acted as a bit of seclusion from the rest of Rivendell, meaning that Legolas would get her all to himself for a few hours. And it also allowed the two of them to catch up with each other without any interruptions, although, they had only actually spoken about him so far, as Lynwen seemed to keep skirting around any questions he had asked about her. And Legolas couldn't help but wonder about hers and Elrohir's relationship, as so far this evening, she hadn't offered any information about it. He knew that something was up, though. He knew her too well to know when something was on her mind, but he decided not to push for any more information this evening. He knew that she would confide in him when she was ready.

It was well past midnight now, and although he didn't feel the cold too much, himself, he knew that Lynwen was sensitive to it.

"Maybe we should head back." He said. "Get you to your chambers, and next to a fire." He suggested as he turned his head to look at her.

Lynwen turned her head too, and looked back at him for a few moments in silence. She still hadn't told him about what had happened between her and Elrohir, even though she wanted to confide in her best friend more than anything. But Lynwen found the whole experience highly embarrassing, and wasn't sure if she could ever admit that she had found her boyfriend in bed with someone else. How pathetic would that make her look? But regrettably, she knew that Legolas would find out about it sooner or later, if not from her, then from someone else. She sighed, wishing that she didn't have to acknowledge that most heart-breaking time in her life, six months previous, but knew that she'd rather tell Legolas herself than let him hear it from someone else.

"Yeah, let's head back." She answered sadly, wishing she could just stay hidden away with Legolas for the rest of her days.

Once they were inside her bedroom, Legolas headed straight for her fireplace and got the flames going immediately. He turned to find Lynwen exiting her bathing chambers wearing a long-sleeved, ankle-length white nightgown, with her arms crossed over her chest as she rubbed her upper arms with her hands. "It's so bloody cold." She frowned.

Legolas dragged an armchair across the room and positioned it in front of the fire. "Come, sit." He gestured with his hands.

Lynwen smiled at him again. He was so caring and attentive, and she had missed him so much. "I think it might actually be warmer inside the bed." Lynwen said, as she began pulling back the thick quilt and bright pink throw.

Legolas nodded in understanding. "Yes, you're probably right." He stood a bit awkwardly in front of the fireplace for a few seconds, his eyes shifting around the room before they landed back onto Lynwen. "Well, I should probably bid you a goodnight." He said a little nervously as he bowed his head.

Lynwen's eyes widened at his farewell. "You mean, you're not going to stay here with me?"

Legolas looked back up to her, seeing the disappointment in her face. He sighed as he wondered what to do for the best. Sure, if this was Mirkwood, he would be cuddled up in that bed with her right now, joking and laughing over something that had happened that day. But this wasn't Mirkwood. This was Rivendell. And this was the home of Elrohir. It seemed highly disrespectful to climb into bed with the girlfriend of his friend, while practically being under that friend's very own roof. Yeah, he knew it was hypocritical of him to have shared a bed with Lynwen on many occasions over the last number of years, but it had been purely innocent. They had just been two close friends who enjoyed each other's company. But now, here in Rivendell, with Elrohir probably milling about somewhere close by, it seemed highly inappropriate.

"Where is Elrohir? I'm sure he will keep you company." Legolas suggested softly, still remaining standing in the same spot on the opposite side of the room.

Lynwen looked at him a little stunned. Why was he refusing to stay with her? Why was he refusing to do what they had always done in the past? The way in which he was standing as far away from her as he could, with his body shifting a little uncomfortably, confused her greatly, and even hurt her a little. And he had also asked her the dreaded question again; 'Where is Elrohir?' to which she knew that she couldn't prolong it any longer, and that she was going to have to come clean about what had happened.

"Elrohir cheated on me."

Lynwen's blunt words almost knocked Legolas off balance. He hadn't been expecting her to say that, and it took him a few seconds of stunned silence to recover his composure. "What? When?"

Lynwen slumped down on her bed like a dead weight, feeling the heaviness of that horrid experience suddenly deflating her good mood. She sighed heavily as she allowed her hands to flop into her lap. "It was the day I arrived back in Imladris with Aragorn. Clearly no one had been expecting me, including Elrohir so it seems, for when I went in search of him, I found him in bed with some elleth." Lynwen kept her eyes fixed onto the floor as she nervously twiddled her fingers together.

Legolas just continued to look at her from his position on the other side of the room. He was a little too shocked to think of anything worthy to say to her. But despite his loss of words, he was able to conjure up a lot of anger towards Elrohir as he stood there helplessly looking at Lynwen; who looked so small in that moment. He loved her so much and couldn't bear to think that she was hurting, wanting nothing more than to inflict extreme pain on the person who had caused this.

He slowly walked across the bedroom and sat down on the bed next to her.

Lynwen kept her head tilted downward, making sure her eyes were still fixated on the floor as she didn't want to look at Legolas right now. She felt too embarrassed and pathetic by revealing how idiotic she must have sounded all these years by pining for Elrohir so openly, and she just couldn't bear to see whatever look Legolas had on his face at that moment. But when Legolas' fingertips gently took a hold of her chin, forcing her to face him, she felt instantly relieved to see that the only expression on his face was that of concern. Concern for her. There was no judgment or mockery behind those crystal-blue eyes of his. No ridicule or laughter. There was nothing but care and worry etched into those beautiful eyes, as his mouth pulled at the corners of his lips slightly to reveal a sincere kindness in his small smile as he just continued to gaze warmly at her.

Lynwen couldn't contain the slight smile that began to grace her lips too, as she regarded her best friend. He had become such an important figure in her life over the years, and she couldn't imagine living without him. She could almost feel his eyes penetrating her very soul as he continued to gaze at her, making her feel a wonderful warm sensation under her skin, and butterflies in her stomach. She loved him so much. Always had. But right now, seeing him sitting beside her and looking at her in the way that he was, and knowing deep in her heart that he would always be there for her no matter what, made her feel a whole other level of love for him. The kind of love that made her breath hitch, and her senses to be dizzied.

And Lynwen's eyes, as usual, were displaying every emotion that she was currently feeling, causing Legolas to once again, get lost in those dark blue depths. It had actually been one of the things that had first attracted Legolas to her in the beginning, for not once in his life had he ever come across someone whom he could read so easily just by looking into their eyes. All the elves he had grown up with in Mirkwood, always had their expressions devoid of any emotion, making it very difficult to surmise what mood they were in. And he knew that he was guilty of this particular trait, himself, and wondered if it was just a characteristic of the race of elves. But with Lynwen, she could be read like a book. Just by looking at her, Legolas was always able to tell what she was feeling, and her eyes were always her biggest traitor in that respect. And right now, not only could he see the hurt that she was experiencing, but he could also see her longing and appreciation for him, which made his heart soar.

He brought up both of his hands and firmly gripped the sides of her head, unintentionally tugging at her hair as his fingers tangled in amongst her tresses, bringing her head down to meet with his. He softly caressed the side of her face with his own as he closed his eyes, taking a moment to relish in the softness of her skin against his cheek and the sweet smell of her hair invading his senses. He brought his lips to her ear and softly whispered to her. "You have me, Lynwen. I'll make sure that no one is ever able to hurt you again." He said hoarsely as his grip on her hair tightened even more.

Lynwen closed her eyes and leant her cheek into his, some more, loving the warm feeling that Legolas' touch was creating deep within her. She brought up her own hands and wrapped them firmly around his neck, scooting across the bed slightly so that their chests were now touching, as she held him tightly to her. "I love you so much." She whispered into his neck, as she ignored the pain of Legolas strongly gripping her hair, and instead, could only concentrate on how comfortable it felt to be in his hold. It just felt right. Like she belonged in his embrace. And when he whispered "I love you too" into her ear, she felt pure and utter elation. And for the first time in months, she felt safe, secure, and completely at home, right there with Legolas.

Legolas brought his head back slightly from their tight embrace and placed a long, lingering kiss on the side of her head, as his fingers pushed back into her hair some more. "I'll stay with you tonight." He whispered, pulling back entirely from their embrace to gaze lovingly into her eyes, with his hands still keeping a firm hold of her hair. The look of relief was evident on Lynwen's features as she looked back at him, and Legolas knew that he was treading on very dangerous ground by offering to stay in her room for the night. He had seen first-hand what happens to people who cross Elrohir, and so he knew he would be taking a big risk by sleeping next to Lynwen tonight. But he just didn't care at that moment. For Legolas, the fact that Lynwen was upset, was much more important to him than facing the wrath of Elrohir.

"Thank you." Lynwen said with a warm smile.

No more words were exchanged between them that night, as they cuddled up in bed together, with Lynwen falling asleep pretty much straight away. But for Legolas, rest didn't come so easily. He spent all of that night just looking down at a soundly sleeping Lynwen in his arms, wondering for how much longer his sorry heart could continue to be rejected by her. She still had no idea how true his declaration of love to her just a few hours earlier, was. And she still had no idea how much his soul had connected itself to hers, with his fate forever being dictated by her actions. He berated himself now for allowing a bond to start developing between them back when she was preparing to leave Mirkwood, six months before. It was something that he had been working hard to prevent from happening over the years, but when he had walked into her Mirkwood chambers to find her packing her bag, the invisible barricade that he had spent so long building between their souls, just crumbled away in his despair. And he knew as soon as he had felt her own emotions deep within his core at that very same moment, that he had made a connection with her. He wasn't sure if this bond he had unintentionally created between the two of them was undoable, but what he did know for certain was that he couldn't allow it to intensify in any way. He just wasn't sure that his heart would be able to survive her rejection if this bond became any stronger between them. But with every touch that they traded, with every laugh that they shared, and with every look that they exchanged, only made Legolas' seemingly hopeless fight with this bond, become even more of a struggle. And he wasn't sure for how much longer he could continue to prevent it from escalating.

xxx

Frodo was awake. It seemed to be all everyone had been talking about. He had woken up the day after Legolas had arrived in the realm, and unbeknown to Lynwen, a number of other strangers from around Middle-Earth had also arrived in Rivendell. They consisted of a human named Boromir, three other hobbits who had arrived with her beloved brother, Aragorn, some dwarves which Lynwen had found extremely exciting, and the infamous Mithrandir.

It was now the day after Frodo had woken, and something was clearly going down. All morning Lynwen had seen people rushing about the place, and there was just a general uneasy feeling within the air that she was unable to explain. And it was when she had gone in search of Legolas, and had found him in one of the courtyards looking concerned as he and Aragorn spoke in hushed tones, that she knew something wasn't right.

"Lynwen." Legolas acknowledged her with a warm smile as he saw her approaching.

"What's going on?" She asked after she stopped beside the pair.

The serious look that Legolas and Aragorn exchanged for a brief second, didn't go unnoticed by Lynwen. "Nothing, muinthel." Aragorn said with a smile. "There's just been a council called by Elrond, that myself and Legolas have been asked to attend, and we were just discussing that, that's all"

"A council for what?"

Another look was exchanged between the pair before Aragorn spoke up again. "Nothing for you to worry about, Lynwen." He said with his warm smile still adorning his face.

Lynwen began to feel frustrated. It was so bloody obvious that they were keeping something from her. "There's something very weird going on around here, and it's really obvious that you two know something…"

"Legolas, mellon!"

Legolas and Aragorn both turned to look behind them at hearing the call, but Lynwen didn't need to look to know who that voice belonged to. Elrohir.

Elrohir walked up to them and embraced Legolas in a stiff, masculine hug, both of them giving each other a few manly pats on the back before pulling away from each other.

"I hope you're prepared for my father's council this afternoon." Elrohir said with a smirk. "I was hoping to avoid it myself, but unfortunately my father has requested mine and Elladan's attendance at the bloody thing." He said with a roll of his eyes. "So when did you arrive?" Elrohir asked enthusiastically. It was obvious that he still hadn't seen Lynwen yet, as she remained hidden behind Legolas and Aragorn's tall frames.

"Just two days ago." Legolas replied.

Elrohir's brow scrunched up in confusion. "Two days ago? How is it that I haven't seen you until now? You know to seek me out as soon as you get here."

"I know, and I apologise." Legolas replied. "But Lynwen, here, was kind enough to look after me." Legolas said as he stepped aside, revealing Lynwen to a suddenly broken-looking Elrohir.

It amazed Lynwen how quickly the look on Elrohir's face could change from happiness at seeing his friend, to a look of total devastation at seeing her. And Elrohir didn't respond for a number of seconds as he only continued to stare at Lynwen with a look of complete anguish in his miserable-looking grey eyes. And even though the hurt he had caused her was still there, constantly eating away at her being, Lynwen still couldn't prevent herself from feeling utter sadness at the desolate way in which Elrohir looked at that moment. She hated seeing him like this, and it affected her greatly to see him suffering so much.

A small smile graced Elrohir's lips, which Lynwen knew was just him trying to fool the others into believing that nothing was wrong. "Aye, Lynwen's very good at that." He said with a pure genuineness in his pained voice, as his grey eyes continued to bore into hers, sadly.

"Well, I'd better be going." Lynwen said, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen on the group. She had nowhere that she needed to be, but she just needed to get away from Elrohir, and the effect that his penetrating stare was having on her.

Elrohir only nodded in understanding, knowing himself that she probably didn't need to be anywhere, and that she was only trying to get away from him. And that knowledge was yet another break to his slowly shattering heart.

xxx

"So that Gollum creature escaped?" Lynwen asked Legolas the following day, as they hung out in his allocated chambers. "And you say that he was under your watch at the time?" Lynwen sucked in a breath. "Oh, Legolas, I bet your father wasn't happy." She said with a smirk.

Legolas couldn't help but to smile as well. "Aye, more like furious, I'd say!"

They both laughed, knowing so well what it was like to experience the wrath of the mighty King Thranduil. "But, it actually wasn't my fault!" Legolas defended. "He tricked us. Convinced us into letting him out for some fresh air. And once he was outside, he escaped up a tree. But that was when the orcs surprised us, leaving Gollum unattended as we fought, and we never saw him again. We wonder if he had planned the whole thing. It was like he knew what the orcs were going to do."

"Is that what the council was about, yesterday?"

Legolas looked at Lynwen in silence for a few moments. He didn't know how to answer her, for they had all been sworn to secrecy in that council. But he hated keeping secrets from her.

He sighed deeply. "Um, no, the council was about something that Frodo had in his possession. A ring."

Legolas went on to tell her the bare minimum of how this ring needed to be destroyed, and that Elrond was currently deciding who should accompany Frodo on this dangerous quest. The reason he didn't tell her the full details was not because he didn't trust her, but because he didn't want to risk putting her in danger. The less she knew, the safer she'd be, he surmised.

Lynwen nodded, but didn't ask any more questions. She knew there was more to it than Legolas was letting on, especially after the afternoon a few days previous when she had been watching over Frodo and had heard the ring around his neck speak to her. But she didn't want to push her best friend to reveal something that he clearly wasn't comfortable in doing.

Legolas stood from the edge of his bed. "Well, as much as I love having you here, I have to get myself ready for tonight."

Lynwen rolled her eyes. "Yeah, don't remind me." She said as she too, stood up from his bed.

Legolas turned to face her, smiling. "C'mon, Lynwen, it'll be fun."

"I very much doubt that, Legolas. Elrond and Elrohir are both going to be there." She sighed.

Legolas took a hold of her hand, affectionately stroking her skin with his thumb. "Yeah, but so will I." He said softly.

Lynwen smiled at him. "I know." She said as she gave his hand a gentle squeeze, feeling a little bit of relief that she'd have him there with her tonight.

xxx

The Grand Hall was set up with a row of banquet tables down the middle of the room, all of which, were adorned with various buffets of food for everyone to enjoy. There were a few tables scattered around the edge of the hall with a few chairs at each one, to allow the guests the opportunity to sit down throughout the night, and a number of elves were walking around with trays of different drinks on offer.

"Lynwen, you look absolutely beautiful." Legolas said. He had seen her entering into the Grand Hall, and had immediately rushed over to meet her at the door. "I don't think I have ever seen you in a dress, before." He said in amazement, as he continued to gaze her up down.

Lynwen laughed. "Yeah, I doubt you have. I hate the things! But Arwen decided that it would be more appropriate for me to meet our new guests."

Legolas eventually moved his gaze to her face. "Well, I think I would have to agree with Arwen, in this instance." He said as he smiled widely at her. "Come, there are some people you should meet." He grabbed her hand and swiftly led her across the hall.

A number of hours later, and a number of introductory conversations afterward, and Lynwen was actually enjoying herself. She found the hobbits endearing, especially Merry and Pippin who, she quickly discovered, were little rascals who were usually up to no good. But she couldn't help but develop an instant liking to them. Then there were the dwarves, who seemed to keep themselves separated from everyone else, as they just stood on one side of the hall, eating more than their fair share of the banquet, and quite rudely muttering to themselves. But Lynwen found them fascinating. Never in her life had she ever seen a dwarf before, and she tried very hard throughout the night to not stare at them. And then there was Mithrandir, whom many of the visitors were referring to as Gandalf. And he was exactly how Lynwen had imagined him to be; kind, wise, and extremely interesting. The stories he had shared with her from his past, had her hanging on his every word.

And then there was Boromir, who Lynwen found to be a very courteous and genuinely nice gentleman. He spoke passionately of his home; the kingdom of Gondor, where his father was the Steward, and of his desire to protect it at any cost. Lynwen couldn't help but wonder what it must be like to love your home so much, that you would speak of it so enthusiastically, even willing to put your life on the line to save it.

"You should come and visit Gondor, one day. Maybe you could even live there." He had said to her during their earlier conversation, to which Lynwen was actually giving it some serious thought. Maybe Gondor was the answer to her problems. With it being a mostly human settlement, maybe she'd actually be able to make a happy life for herself there. She made a mental note to talk to Legolas about it, not really wanting to move anywhere without him. And what with his constant desire to leave Mirkwood, she thought that there was a very good chance that he might actually consider moving there with her.

But even though Lynwen had been rather enjoying herself tonight, she had been unable ignore the constant stares that were coming from Elrohir. He had spent most of the evening sitting by himself on the other side of the hall, getting steadily drunk. He made no effort to socialise with anyone, even being impolite to some of the people who had approached him, rudely telling them to leave him alone.

And now, as Lynwen sneakily looked over at him again, she saw that he had moved on from drinking glasses of wine and instead, was now brazenly swigging from an enormous decanter. He was still sat rigidly in the same chair, with his foot now elevated and discourteously resting on the table beside him as he stared daggers at the party happening before him. And even at the distance that she was from him, Lynwen could clearly see how intoxicated he was getting. And she only hoped that he would eventually leave quietly and not make a scene of some sort.

"There you are!"

Legolas' voice brought her out of her worried thoughts.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Legolas asked her.

Lynwen sent one last glance at Elrohir out of the corner of her eye before turning her attention back to Legolas. "Yeah, I actually am. It's been a lot of fun meeting all these new people."

Legolas smiled widely. "See! I told you you'd end up enjoying yourself."

The sound of something crashing made them both, and most of the other guests in the hall, freeze and turn to the source of the noise. And Lynwen cringed when she saw that the cause of the noise had been Elrohir violently kicking over the table that he had been sat beside, sending all the glasses that had been adorning the wooden surface, smashing all over the floor. Elladan was stood beside him, his arms raising in a way that told her he was trying to reason with his brother. But the chilling look that Elrohir had on his face, as if he was ready to kill someone at any second, told her that he was beyond reason. And when he suddenly shot up from his seat, glancing in her direction and throwing her a long lingering stare, she anxiously wondered what his next move would be. But her question was answered when Elrohir lifted the empty glass decanter with his right hand, and threw it with such force at the wall behind him, that it shattered into hundreds of tiny pieces, sending an echo around the hall that no one was able to ignore. And then, after throwing Lynwen one last stare, Elrohir was gone. He stormed out of the hall so fast that he almost knocked a few people over on in his way out, allowing the huge double doors to slam closed behind him.

Elladan remained standing where he was, rubbing his forehead with his hand, as he looked awkwardly at the silent guests who were now staring at him, and at the remnants of the barbarous scene that had just erupted.

Elrond was stood at the top of the hall, subtly looking back and forth between Lynwen and at the area that Elrohir had just destroyed, knowing that the feelings that his son harboured for his foster daughter, was the reason behind his son's brutish behaviour. And in that moment, Elrond realised that his decision to abandon Lynwen in Mirkwood eight years ago, had actually caused his son more harm than good. He had hoped that Elrohir's feelings for Lynwen would have faded over that time, but instead, Elrohir's feelings only seemed to have intensified for the human woman, meaning that his beloved son was still heading for death by heartbreak. And Elrond regretted trying to end their relationship more than anything now, because due to his meddling, it looked like Elrohir was destined to die alone, instead of having Lynwen by his side.

Lynwen looked to the double doors that Elrohir has just exited from and made a split-second decision, deciding to go after him.

"Lynwen, just leave him be." Legolas warned as he stopped Lynwen in her pursuit by grabbing a hold of her arm.

But Lynwen shook her head at him. "I can't just leave him Legolas. Not like this. Please, go to Elladan." She said, gesturing her head to her embarrassed-looking foster brother who was still stood awkwardly on the opposite side of the room. And with that, she took off out of the hall.

It didn't take her long to see Elrohir stalking away in the distance, and she began running after him, quickly discovering that high-heels weren't the most sensible footwear to be wearing while sprinting.

"Ro, wait!" She called after him. But he didn't even look back, and continued to storm off down the open-air corridors. So Lynwen momentarily stopped in her pursuit and hastily removed the uncomfortable shoes from her feet before continuing her run, bare foot. She rounded a corner just in time to see Elrohir entering his chambers.

"Ro!" She called out, causing Elrohir to stop dead in his tracks and freeze in the open doorway to his room. But he didn't turn around to face her, and only continued to look into his room, keeping his back to her.

She slowly walked up to him and stopped when she was just mere inches behind him, causing Elrohir to close his eyes and his body to tense at her close proximity.

"Ro… are you ok?" Lynwen asked, knowing it was an absolutely ridiculous question as soon as she had heard herself say it.

But Elrohir didn't answer, and only kept his back to her, closing his eyes even more tightly as he steadily tried to control his erratic breathing. But Lynwen's hand coming to gently rest on his upper arm, snapped him out of his deep concentration, causing him to quite aggressively jerk her hand off of him. "Please don't, Lynwen." He said quietly over his shoulder, still not looking at her.

Lynwen just screwed up her brow in confusion. It was only a number of weeks ago that he was desperate to get close to her. But now, it seemed that something as simple as her touch, repulsed him immensely.

But little did Lynwen know, was that it was actually the complete opposite. Because Elrohir's soul was so completely enraptured by everything about her, that he just couldn't bear her rejection anymore. In his drunken stupor, he feared that even seeing the rejection in her eyes, would break his heart right then and there, which was causing him to stubbornly keep his back to her. He knew that the shitload of wine he had consumed tonight didn't help, but at this moment, he just didn't feel strong enough to even look at her, let alone talk to her!

"Just go, Lynwen." He whispered weakly, before he took the few more steps into his bedroom, firmly pushing the door closed behind him, and abruptly leaving Lynwen standing in the open-air corridor alone as she just stared at the closed door in front of her face.

Why did she want to cry? Why did she even care that Elrohir had just shut the door in her face? This was what she had wanted, wasn't it? For Elrohir to move on from her? For Elrohir to forget about _them_?So why did his rejection hurt so damn much?

Lynwen stared at his closed door for another few seconds of stunned silence before she rapidly blinked back the tears that had quickly formed in her eyes, as she swiftly turned away and walked down the stone steps and into the gardens below, deciding that a quiet moon-lit walk alone was what she needed to get her emotions in check.

And after around an hour later, Lynwen stood up from the spot under a tree that she had been hiding away under, knowing that there was only one person in this forsaken realm who could make her feel better; and that person was Legolas.

She didn't know if he would still be at the party, but decided to just head straight for his chambers and wait for him there. There was no way that Lynwen could face going back to the Grand Hall tonight, feeling far too fragile to be able to keep a fake smile on her face for the sake of the guests.

As she let herself into Legolas' allocated chambers, she saw that the bedroom was faintly lit by a few candles, meaning that Legolas must have been there somewhere. And the sound of running water coming from the adjoining bathroom, caused her to notice a faint glow of light coming from under that closed door. Legolas was obviously home, and was clearly showering, so Lynwen just lethargically slumped down on to the bedroom floor with her legs crossed in a child-like fashion, and waited for him to finish.

She didn't have to wait long, for a few minutes later Legolas emerged from his adjoining bathroom, coming to a sudden and surprised standstill as he saw Lynwen sitting on the floor.

Lynwen found herself being just as surprised to see him, as her mouth unexpectedly dropped a little and her eyes hungrily gazed up and down his body. He was wearing only a tight pair of breeches that were incredibly thin, and left very little to the imagination, causing Lynwen's eyes to linger a second too long on his very impressive-looking bulge. She quickly brought her eyes up to his bare torso, taking a moment to admire his firmly toned abdomen and chest before raking her eyes up to his lithe, but muscular shoulders and arms. His long blond hair was completely unbound of its usual braids and was instead, hanging freely down his bare upper-body, framing his beautifully handsome face and causing his spectacularly light-blue eyes to stand out even more.

"Lynwen? Is everything alright?" Legolas asked her concernedly, as he dropped the towel in his hand, and made his way over to her.

Lynwen didn't answer at first, being far too stunned to speak. He was just so incredibly breath-taking to look at, that Lynwen found herself a little speechless. Sure, she'd seen him topless a few times before, but this time was different. This time when she looked at his spectacular body, her insides twisted with desire. She knew the feeling well, for she had always experienced it with Elrohir in the past. But this time, it wasn't the black-haired Lord that was making her heart race, but instead, it was the blond-haired Prince.

Lynwen had always recognised how handsome Legolas was over the years she'd known him, but until the last few days, she had always thought of him as nothing more than her friend. Over the last few days, she acknowledged that her heart soured for him much more than it ever had in the past, but she had just brushed those new feelings off as the fact that she was excited to see her best mate after months of being apart.

But now, sitting here looking at his dishevelled damp hair, with the odd droplet of water sensually running down his naked torso, forming long wet trails down his toned stomach before eagerly disappearing beneath the waistband of his breeches, she knew that she was beginning to see him as more than just a friend. And it was a realisation that both excited and terrified her.

"Um, yeah, I just wanted to see you." She finally answered while sheepishly looking down at the ground.

Legolas sat himself down on the floor too, and leant his back against the foot of the bed, looking at her sceptically. "What happened?" He asked after a few moments of silently assessing her mood.

Lynwen looked up at him, instantly smiling at seeing his knowing smirk on his face. He always had been able to tell when she was lying. He knew her so well, and it was something that only intensified her longing for him; a longing for someone whom she didn't have to be fake around. A longing for someone whom she didn't have to try too hard to impress. And a longing for someone whom she knew would be there for her, no matter what.

Lynwen sighed. "Well, nothing really. I chased after him, but he wouldn't even look at me. And all he said was for me to 'just go'. Then he shut his bedroom door in my face." She said as she looked down to the floor again. That wave of emotion that she had felt an hour before when Elrohir had shunned her, came back with a force, and she tried hard to suppress the new tears that were threatening to fall, really not wanting to start crying in front of Legolas. But she knew that she was doing a horrible job of it, and just hoped that she wasn't making Legolas feel horribly awkward right now, knowing that no matter how close he and she were, no male was ever comfortable in the presence of a crying female.

Legolas just looked at her in silence, wishing he didn't have to see her looking like this. He hated seeing her so down, and he hated being so powerless when it came to taking that pain away from her.

He leant forward and firmly wrapped his arms around her shoulders, leaning back against the bed behind him again, and pulling her back with him. He settled her head into the crook of his neck while he cradled her in his arms, remaining silent, and only placing a number of lingering and forceful kisses on her hair.

She felt like a complete and utter arse right at that moment. But she just couldn't contain the array of tears that his affectionate actions towards her, caused. And so, she began to sob shamelessly into his neck as her arms wrapped around his shoulders, holding him to her in a vice-like grip, afraid to let him go, fearing that the only person left in this world who still seemingly cared for her, would slip away if she did. Legolas wasn't just her best friend. He was her lifeline. She hadn't realised until now, how much she depended on him. With the way that she was feeling in her life; lost, unwanted, misplaced, she hadn't realised until this very moment how much she needed Legolas to help her feel that she wasn't just a spare part who didn't belong. And Legolas made her feel the complete opposite. He had a natural ability to always make her feel wanted, loved, and rooted, right there in his arms, like she would always belong with him. No matter what.

So, blame it on the amount of wine that she had consumed that night, or the way in which Elrohir had shunned her an hour before, or the huge and lonely part of her that was always craving for some sort of affection from someone who genuinely loved her, or perhaps it was a mixture of all three, but Lynwen suddenly found herself sucking in her sobs as she began to slowly and sensually kiss Legolas' neck.

Legolas immediately stiffened after feeling her lips on his skin, finding himself paralysed from shock for a number of seconds. But after his brief surprise subsided, he quickly pulled his head back from their embrace, ending her kisses in the process, as he stared down at her in stunned silence.

Lynwen tilted her head up to look at his face, ignoring the remnants of her tears that were still slowly running down her cheeks, as she gazed into his beautiful eyes. Eyes that were looking at her in shock, but were unable to hide the adoration and love that he felt for her. His arms were still holding her tightly to his rapidly rising bare chest, as his eyes continued to lock with hers, with neither of them still not uttering a single word to break the heavy and intense silence that had descended on them.

And so, Lynwen took his reluctance to move away from her, as an invitation to continue. She needed to continue. She desperately needed to feel Legolas in a way that she had never experienced before. So, after gazing into his stunned eyes for a few more silent and intense seconds, she brought up her hand to the side of his head, before slowly leaning her face up to his, closing her eyes just as she softly placed her lips upon his, instantly feeling her insides ignite with desire, at their contact.

Legolas still didn't pull away, but was still too shocked by Lynwen's boldness to be able to kiss her back. Instead, he remained rigid and motionless for a number of moments, as Lynwen slowly continued to place feather light kisses on his lips. His eyes were still wide open as he tried desperately to find the strength to push her away. She was upset. She was fragile, and clearly just desperate for someone to comfort her during this low point in her life, meaning that she would probably regret this in the morning. But even with this knowledge, Legolas still couldn't bring himself to push her away. For too long he had waited for this moment, for their lips to meet in this way. He desperately needed to feel her like this, and so, after a few more seconds of silently fighting with reason, he helplessly closed his eyes and began to kiss her back with a yearning that far out-matched Lynwen's enthusiasm, gliding his hands up her back before resting them on the sides of her head, his fingers gripping her hair tightly.

Their breaths immediately became ragged as their kiss rapidly became more eager and heated. And when Legolas greedily inserted his tongue into her mouth, sensually caressing her own tongue with his, Lynwen couldn't prevent the quiet, but desperate-sounding cry that escaped the back of her throat, as she brought up her other hand and began sliding her fingers through his unbound hair.

And within seconds, they were ferociously panting into each other's mouths, eagerly breathing in each other's air, with their tongues desperately exploring the other, as their hands continued to tug and tangle in the other's hair.

Then suddenly, Lynwen abruptly pulled away from the kiss, snapping Legolas out of his lust-filled daze and forcing him to open his eyes to see what the problem was. But the smirk that he saw gracing Lynwen's lips as she seductively looked back at him, immediately told him that she wasn't done yet. And in that split-second, Legolas was given another and final chance to end this before it went any further. Before their important friendship was completely ruined beyond repair. And before his self-made barricade came tumbling down, exposing his already fragile soul to the risk of becoming completely and irreversibly bound to Lynwen. There was no telling if he'd be able to survive her inevitable rejection if that was to happen.

But seeing Lynwen reach down to grab a hold of the sides of her dress, slowly pulling up her skirts, and completely exposing her bare legs to him, made him forget all reason. All that consumed him in that moment was hunger. Hunger for the spectacular woman that was now straddling his hips, looking into his eyes like he was all that mattered in her world. And he was lost to her.

Lynwen gently grabbed the back of his head with her hands, and leant back down to resume their kissing, her bare knees resting on the carpet either side of his thighs. And within no time at all, Legolas responded by kissing her back with the same urgency as before, delving his tongue into her mouth like his very life depended on it. And within seconds, they were desperately panting into each other's mouths again, both of them painfully gripping the other's hair as they urgently swallowed each other up. The kiss had rapidly turned desperate and ferocious, with their frantic breathing and gasps filling the, otherwise quiet, room, as they both continued to cling onto each other for dear life.

And Legolas' rapidly growing hardness quickly filled the only gap that was left between them, wonderfully pushing against Lynwen's sensitive centre, causing her to quietly moan into his mouth as she instinctively grinded herself against him, trying to ease the ache between her legs.

But her firm grind against Legolas' erection, caused his head to fall back in bliss, and a deep, loud groan to escape his throat; filling the room with an extremely audible noise that couldn't be ignored. And it was this loud groan of his that snapped the pair out of what they were doing, causing their heads to snap up to stare at each other in shock, as if they were truly seeing each other for the first time since this had started. Panic and worry quickly crossed their features as they awkwardly continued to look at each other, their bodies rigid and frozen in position.

And then, in his alarm, Legolas gripped the tops of Lynwen's bare thighs, effortlessly lifting her off of him and swiftly placing her on to the floor beside him. He scrambled to his feet and quickly reached out for a tunic, ensuring it was long enough to cover the predicament that was still straining between his legs, before he hastily exited the chambers, leaving Lynwen sat on the floor, confusedly staring at the door he'd just closed behind him.

Fuck! What had she gone and done?! Had she just fucked up the best and only friendship that she had ever had? Should she go after him? Or should she leave him be?

She decided to go with that latter, feeling far too embarrassed to even face him at that moment. But even though what had just transpired between them could have potentially ruined their friendship, she couldn't deny that it had felt utterly amazing. She wasn't sure how to explain it but, not only had she felt Legolas in a physical sense, but she had also felt him emotionally, deep inside her. It truly felt like they had been one person during that kiss, blending together into one being, feasting on each other's emotions and feelings and selflessly sharing in their new-found ecstasy. And it had been one of the most magical experiences of Lynwen's life.

xxx

It was hours later, and well into the night. Lynwen had returned to her own room soon after Legolas had left her after their unexpected kiss, and had remained lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling ever since.

What the hell was she going to do? Elrohir seemingly despised her, and now Legolas too, probably. She was so confused. She had recognised that deep down, she still cared for Elrohir, and would probably always hold some feelings towards him for the rest of her life. But she hadn't realised how unsuccessful she had been in eradicating her love for him, until tonight. Until he had shut her out, quite literally, leaving her feeling empty and unloved. But hadn't she wanted to be unloved when it came to Elrohir? Hadn't he hurt her in a way that she would never be able to forgive? So why was she so affected by his refusal to let her in emotionally, this evening? Why did she care?

And then there was Legolas. Oh Valar, what the hell had that been, tonight?! Lynwen didn't even know where to begin with him. Was he still her best friend, or had he now shunned her, too? And why had that kiss felt so right? And so damn perfect? It almost made her feel a little regretful that she had wasted the past eight years, _not_ kissing him.

Her bedroom door slowly and quietly opening, woke her from her deep thoughts, causing her to look to see who was paying her a visit at this ungodly hour of the night.

But her question was answered when she saw Legolas peer around her door, instantly seeing that she was awake as his piercing eyes locked onto hers. He entered into the room fully before quietly closing the door behind him, turning around to face her. Lynwen remained silent, not really knowing what to say, or why he was even here, hoping more than anything that he wasn't here to tell her that he wanted nothing more to do with her. That would finish her, completely.

Legolas pushed himself away from the door and walked towards the bed with purposeful strides, keeping his eyes firmly locked onto Lynwen's, and causing her breath to hitch at seeing the desire and hunger in his eyes. And she swiftly sat up from her lying position when Legolas climbed on to the bed and began to crawl over to her.

"Legolas, I'm so sorry for earlier…"

But Legolas placed the tips of his fingers onto her lips, cutting her sentence short. "Shh, Lynwen." He whispered as he positioned himself above her, forcing Lynwen to lie back down onto her back. The desire was still evident in his eyes, but so was the fear that he was feeling. Fear at what his next move might do to their relationship. But he just couldn't pretend anymore. The feelings that he had fought so hard over the last eight years to supress, had escaped with such a force during their kiss earlier, that he knew that his helpless soul was now firmly bonded to Lynwen's whether he wanted it to be or not.

"Please, don't say anything." He begged in a quiet and hoarse voice, as his conflicted-looking eyes continued to scan her face frantically. He then brought his eyes back up and looked into hers with such an intensity and depth, before he slowly leant down and captured her lips with his.

He kissed her softly and at a snail's pace, savouring in the taste of her mouth, and the feel of her tongue against his. This was perfect. Finally, he had Lynwen lying beneath him in a way that he had only ever dreamed about. And in that moment, he felt that he could now die happy, forever having the memory of this wonderful evening engraved into his memory.

He just hoped that tomorrow wouldn't bring with it, total devastation and certain heartbreak if Lynwen was to, once again, dismiss him, knowing full well that he simply wouldn't survive in this life, if she was to reject him after this.

_**To read some sneak peeks from the next chapter, you can visit my Facebook page!**_


	28. Bonded

_Thank you again to Tess for reviewing, and I really hope you continue to enjoy the story! Also thank you to '__Aistariel Elanesse' for your review. It wouldn't let me PM you, but thank you so much for reading and reviewing! Also, a big thank you to the two Guest reviewers, too!_

**Ok, this is a warning that there's sexual content and strong language in this chapter.**

Chapter 28 - Bonded

How could it be possible for anyone to be so beautiful? To have hair that was brighter than the blinding white of the sun, and to have eyes that were such a transparent shade of blue; able to pierce your very soul with just one glance, and yet, not be a God, or something? It just didn't seem right. No one should be this perfect, should they?

But Legolas was. To Lynwen, in that exact moment, he was the most perfect creation that she had ever laid eyes upon. And here he was, lying next to her in her bed, after one of the most passionate nights that they had ever shared together. Her stomach was uncontrollably doing somersaults as she gazed down at his sleeping form with a stupid big grin spread across her face.

His eyes were wide open, but mistily glazed over as he continued to sleep through his deep reverie, his breathing low and level. This had actually been something that had scared Lynwen witless years ago; when she had first discovered Legolas lying motionless with his eyes wide open. Elrohir had always slept with his eyes closed, and so, in all honesty, her initial thought at that time was that Legolas had been dead. But after he had explained to her that it was normal for most elves to rest in this way, Lynwen had quickly gotten used to seeing him sleeping like this. In fact, she decided at this very moment that it was the perfect way for him to sleep, because this way, she was still able to gaze into those amazing and loving eyes of his!

Lynwen inwardly laughed to herself, as she sheepishly acknowledged how giddy she was feeling as she looked down at him. How was it possible to feel so alive after only a kiss? Because that's all that had happened between them last night; a kiss. Albeit, it had been a passionate and intensely heated kiss, but still just a kiss nonetheless. They hadn't had sex, nor had they been intimate in any other sexual nature. But despite this, Lynwen still felt like they had connected physically, somehow.

Legolas' eyes began to clear of their mistiness suddenly, telling Lynwen that he was beginning to wake up. And for the first time in all the years that they had shared a bed together, Lynwen felt nervous. What was he going to say? Was he going to see her and instantly regret their kiss? Were things forever going to be weird between them now?

Legolas blinked a couple of times as his eyes slowly came into focus. He took a moment to take in his surroundings before his scanning eyes landed on Lynwen. She was propping her upper body up with her elbow as her head rested in the palm of her hand, looking down at him with an apprehensive expression on her face. And it was an expression that had Legolas suddenly feeling a little anxious.

"Hey." He said in a quiet voice, a small nervous smile adorning his face.

"Hey." Lynwen replied in a voice that matched Legolas' nervousness, as she too, forced a polite smile on her face.

Then, silence.

That incredibly awkward and uncomfortable silence filled the room while weighing down on them like a thick fog that couldn't be ignored. And for a number of painful moments, all they could do was to scan their eyes nervously around the room, before landing on each other again.

But the way in which they both suddenly opened their mouths and began speaking at the exact same time, had them both laughing with slight embarrassment, which immediately took some of the tension out of the room.

"I'm sorry," Legolas said through his smile. "Please, you first."

Lynwen looked at him for a number of seconds as she tried to decide what it was that she wanted to say, exactly. She took a deep breath to try to steady her nerves. "Do you regret it? Last night, I mean."

Legolas immediately sat upright and turned to face her. "No, of course not." He said without hesitation.

Lynwen exhaled as she turned her head away, aimlessly staring at a spot on the bed covers as she allowed the relief to calm her a little.

"Do you?"

She turned her head to face him again at hearing his question, seeing that he was looking at her with sheer panic etched into his features, as his eyes rapidly searched hers.

"No, I don't regret it." Lynwen said quickly, seeing that his persona instantly relaxed at hearing her words. But for Lynwen, this wasn't enough to ease her worry. Neither of them might have regretted it, but what did it mean for the two of them now?

"What's wrong?" Legolas asked.

Lynwen sighed as she looked back at him. "I'm just… I…"

Legolas reached out and took a hold of her hand, trying to give her the reassurance to find her words and continue on. But his gentle caress of her fingers, only had Lynwen staring down at their joined hands in confusion.

"What does this mean, Legolas?" She asked him, gesturing to their hands. "I mean, what happens now?"

Legolas squeezed her hand a little. "Whatever you want, Lynwen." He said, unable to hide the apprehension in his voice and the hope in his eyes. "Anything you want."

Lynwen just looked at him. What was it that she wanted to happen now? She couldn't deny that it had felt truly wonderful having Legolas laying on top of her last night, kissing her in a way that made her heart race out of control just by even thinking about it! But did she want him in that way? Did she want to take the next step with him, forever ruining their meaningful friendship in the process? And what about Elrohir? She still loved him, she couldn't deny that. The kind of love that she had held for the black-haired Lord all these years, couldn't just be eradicated from anyone's heart that easily, for those feelings had been far too powerful. But could she ever move on from what he did to her? She doubted that she would ever be able to forget seeing Elrohir with that slut, with that memory still burning holes into her heart, even now. But maybe in time, she could learn to forgive him? Maybe in time, their relationship could reconcile and go back to how it once was? Oh, how Lynwen had prayed for that to happen over the past number of months. But her reluctance to trust in Elrohir again, had prevented her from taking him back. But she desperately wanted to be able to trust in him again. She desperately wanted to be able to banish that horrible memory of him screwing that elleth, firmly out of her memory. She missed him so damn much, and she greatly wanted things to go back to how they had been, eight years ago, when life had been simple and carefree, and she and Elrohir had had a promising future ahead of them.

"Lynwen?" Legolas gently called out to her, snapping her out of her thoughts.

Lynwen looked at him then. Truly looked at him. Here was a guy who had always been there for her, no matter what. Legolas had always gone out of his way to please her, ensuring that he always put her happiness before his own. He had always been nothing but kind, caring and sincere to her in all the years that she'd known him, and for that, she loved him deeply. But could she see herself with him as anything more than a friend? Honestly, after last night, her answer would be a definite yes! Last night had opened up a whole load of amazing feelings, emotions and possibilities for the two of them. But what about him? What did Legolas want? Lynwen wanted to hear his views first, being far too scared to put her fragile heart on the line, just in case Legolas shot her down.

"Well, what do you want after last night?" Lynwen quickly turned it back around on him.

But Legolas didn't hesitate for a single second as he looked directly into her eyes. "I want _you_, Lynwen." He said, scooting towards her a little more as his hand kept a firm hold of hers. He looked down to their joined hands, contemplating his next words. What he felt for her was eating him up inside, and he just needed to get it out, even if she ended up rejecting him afterwards. Hell, after last night, he knew his soul was doomed, regardless, so what did he have to lose? He looked back up to her face, and stared directly into her eyes. "I'm completely and utterly in love with you, Lynwen." He suddenly declared, his voice pained. "I've always loved you. Since the very first time I ever laid eyes on you out in the forest of Mirkwood, my heart was yours. Ever since your petrified-looking eyes met mine that day, my heart belonged to you." He looked down at their hands again, his demeanour looking somewhat deflated. "And my heart will forever be yours, Lynwen, whatever you decide." He finished off quietly.

Lynwen gulped hard at hearing his declaration. She honestly had not been expecting this. Had he seriously been in love with her this whole time? For all these years? Her best friend?! The thought actually made her a little sad. She knew first-hand how painful it was to pine for someone who wasn't there for you. For her, it had been Elrohir she had pined for, for eight whole years. But for Legolas, it had been her?

Lynwen stared at their conjoined hands, too, for a number of stunned silent seconds. "I had no idea." She eventually whispered in shock. "Why didn't you say anything, before?"

"How could I?" Legolas asked, his voice sounding strained. "You were in love with Elrohir, and well, I was just your friend."

Lynwen's heart ached for him in that moment, causing her to scoot towards him, too, forcing their bodies to touch. "You've always been more to me than just a friend, Legolas. You're a huge part of my life, and I love you dearly."

"But not in the same way that I love you, though." Legolas responded simply. He looked up and met her stunned-looking face as he forced his mouth into a small smile. "It's ok, Lynwen. You don't have to say anything. I know that you still feel for Elrohir, and well…" He let go of her hand and ran his fingers through his hair in an exasperated manner. "… well, I… I don't know what I was thinking. I shouldn't have said anything." He began to get up off the bed. "And I apologise for putting you in an awkward position."

Lynwen didn't know what to do. She still loved Elrohir deeply but, deep inside her heart and soul, she knew that she loved Legolas, too. How fucked up was this? To be in love with two guys at the same time? It was so fucked up, that she didn't really want to admit it to herself. But Legolas was moving up off the bed, and she was afraid that if she didn't stop him now and tell him how she really felt, then she might miss her chance.

"I love you, too!" She quickly blurted out, causing Legolas to stop in his retreat from the room and turn back around to face her. He was now standing on the floor to the side of the bed, looking down at her a little nervously. And the scepticism in his eyes was evident, as he continued to remain silent and await for her to continue.

Lynwen got up on her knees and moved across the bed so that she was kneeling directly in front of him. She didn't want him to leave, but didn't know what she should say. Yes, she knew now, after the night that the two of them had shared that her feelings for Legolas were nothing but deep, unconditional love. And the fact that he felt the same way about her, should've made this an easy decision. So what was stopping her from taking that step across the border from friendship to relationship, with him? Why was she so reluctant, and scared, even, to take that leap?

But she didn't have to search her brain long to find the answer to those questions. Elrohir. He still had such a strong hold over her heart, making her feel so completely and utterly torn, right now. Deep down, buried underneath all her anger and hurt, she had secretly always hoped that there would be a chance for her and Elrohir to rectify their relationship, somehow. But if she took this leap with Legolas, then that chance with Elrohir would probably be lost, forever.

But looking back at all the years she had known Legolas, she knew for certain that a future with the Mirkwood Prince would be filled with nothing but love, compassion and happiness. But despite this, she just wasn't sure if she was ready in herself, just yet, to so willingly hand over her fragile heart to anyone right now. What if she ended up getting hurt again?

But the lonely and empty void in her body that had plagued her for months now, was crying out for companionship. She was desperate to fill that hollowness in her soul, wanting nothing more than to feel loved, again.

She sighed as she looked down at the mattress, wishing that these millions of conflicting thoughts battling around in her head didn't make her brain hurt so bloody much!

Legolas slowly reached out his hand and caressed her cheek, softly stroking her cheekbone with his thumb. He could clearly see the indecision and confusion in her face, even feeling her anxiety coursing through his own body. He wasn't an idiot. He knew how much she had been in love with Elrohir for all of those years, and feelings like that didn't just go away. But…

"Lynwen…" Legolas spoke quietly, causing her to look up at him. He exhaled long and hard while dropping his arm to his side. "I don't expect you to ever feel for me, like what you felt for Elrohir…"

Lynwen immediately opened her mouth to protest, but Legolas raised his hand in a gesture to silence her.

"Please, Lynwen. Just… let me finish."

Lynwen closed her mouth and slowly nodded her head in agreement, patiently awaiting him to continue.

Legolas took another long deep breath as he tried to ready himself. This was it. This was his chance to convince Lynwen why she should be with him, instead. He just hoped that his declaration wouldn't be futile, and that she would still just end up rejecting him afterwards. And his heart literally ached at that last daunting prospect.

He looked into her eyes with genuine intensity, firmly trapping her in his stare. "Lynwen. What I said before, is true. I love you completely, and I always have. You've truly captured my heart over the years, and all I want in life is for you to be happy." He reached out his hand and took a firm hold of hers, never breaking the penetrating eye contact. "And I want you to give me a chance, Lynwen. A chance to prove to you that I can, in fact, make you happy. I would gladly dedicate my life to ensure that yours is full of joy, and free of worry, hurt and pain. I will stop at nothing to make sure that you have everything that you could possibly want, even if it means fighting a thousand armies, alone, I would gladly do it. For you." He brought her hand up to his chest, resting it against his heart. "And I will spend every waking moment of my life, loving you, Lynwen. I will make sure that you never feel lonely or unloved, ever again. You have my heart, and you have my love. And you always will, have."

Lynwen couldn't contain the smile that spread across her face at hearing his words. Did he really just say all those things? Legolas?! Lynwen's stomach was uncontrollably lurching with love and excitement at what her best friend had just promised her. Her best friend had just promised her everything that she could possibly want in her life, and it felt truly amazing. But was he still her best friend? Or was he now something more? Well, at that particular moment, after hearing his declaration - which she knew to be genuine - Lynwen definitely wanted more. The guy whom she had become so incredibly close to over the past eight years, and whom she cared for so much, was now offering her his unconditional love. He was offering her everything that he had, everything that he was, and she would be a fool to walk away from that. All she had to do was to love him in return, which she already did. But, what if he was to betray her, like Elrohir did? She wasn't sure that she would ever be able to get over that if it happened to her again.

"Lynwen. I promise you that I will never hurt you." Legolas implored, as if reading her thoughts.

Lynwen looked up at him, finding herself smiling again at the way in which he was always able to read her so easily. She wanted to believe him, really she did, but her trust wasn't so easily won, nowadays.

"Lynwen." Legolas said. "You have my word. I would rather die than be the cause of your hurting. I swear that to you."

Lynwen looked into his desperate-looking eyes, feeling his worry radiating off of him in waves. Legolas had been nothing but kind, sincere and loving towards her in all the time she had known him, so how could she possibly doubt his word?

She slowly started nodding her head as her smile widened, causing the look in Legolas' eyes to change from desperation to hope, and then from hope to pure elation.

"Is that a yes?! You'll give me a chance?! You'll give _us_ a chance?!" He asked a little ecstatically, causing Lynwen to laugh a little.

"Yes. It's a yes." She finally clarified with a beaming smile.

Legolas immediately broke out into a huge smile, too, as he excitedly wrapped his arms around her shoulders and brought her into his chest. "You won't regret this. I promise you that." He said into her hair, his grip on her tightening, before he then pulled back from their embrace. He looked down at her with such warmth and devotion as his huge smile remained spread across his face. He moved both of his hands and placed them on the sides of her head, taking a moment to just gaze at her. Here she was, the woman whom he loved more than life, itself, and she was finally _his_. The woman who he would happily die for and spend the rest of her life devoting himself to her, entirely, was now his girl.

He leant down towards her, slowly closing the gap between them as his smile faded, and his lips softly met with hers. They both closed their eyes as they kissed each other a little hesitantly at first, before they then both found their confidence and began kissing each other with meaning. But the kiss still remained incredibly soft and slow as they tenderly brushed their lips against one another's, sensually breathing in each other's air as they took their time tasting one another.

And after only a few moments they slowly pulled apart again, and looked into each other's eyes.

"We're really doing this, aren't we?" Legolas asked excitedly.

Lynwen smiled back at him. "We're really doing this." She stated in response, inciting another grin from Legolas before he immediately leant back down and kissed her again.

But after only a number of seconds, Lynwen abruptly pulled away as her need to speak surpassed the romantic moment they were sharing in.

"But, Legolas, we have to keep this a secret." She breathed against his lips a little frantically. "No one can find out about this."

Legolas looked back at her for a number of seconds in silence, studying her. "You mean, Elrohir can't find out about this." He simply stated in a low tone, with an unreadable expression on his face.

Oh crap, was he angry? Had Lynwen just started their first ever lovers' tiff after only a few minutes of them being a couple?

But he was right. All Lynwen cared about was the possibility of Elrohir finding out about them. Even though he had shunned her the night before, she knew deep down that the discovery of her and Legolas in a relationship would simply break him, and Lynwen loved the Rivendell twin too much to put him through that. And he and Legolas were good friends, too, and Lynwen didn't want to be the cause of a falling out between them, either.

Ugh! Either way, it was going to be a very unpleasant experience if or when Elrohir found about this. Wait. 'If'. That was the word that began to fill Lynwen with hope. Maybe Elrohir never needed to find out about this? Maybe she could forever keep this relationship a secret from him?!

But reality soon set in after she quickly realised how idiotic she was being. Of course Elrohir was going to find out about this. It was just a question of, when?

Legolas sighed, but still kept a grip of the sides of Lynwen's head. "Lynwen, he's going to find out about this, sooner or later…"

"But not now." Lynwen interrupted with a panicked tone.

"Do you want me to talk to him?" Legolas asked gently.

But Lynwen's eyes grew wide at his offer. Had Legolas gone mad?! Was he really going to approach Elrohir and say _'Hey, yeah, you know that girl that you were with, the one who you're still madly in love with? Well, yeah, she's with me now.'_

"Oh Eru, no Legolas! He'd probably kill you!" Lynwen started shaking her head at the horrifying thought. "No, it has to come from me." She said plainly. "But, I just don't think now is the right time."

"Is it because you're not entirely sure about us?" Legolas asked doubtfully.

But Lynwen quickly responded as she placed her hands on top of his. "No, Legolas. I am sure about this. I love you…"

"But you love him, too."

Legolas' icy statement sent a chill down her spine, as she looked at the cold way in which his eyes were boring into her. Shit, he really was pissed off, wasn't he? And all she could do was to look back at him, not really knowing what to say to that.

But Legolas immediately let out a heavy sigh as he looked down to the floor, breaking his icy stare. "I apologise, Lynwen. I understand how difficult this must be for you."

Lynwen looked at him a little sceptically. Did he honestly understand? Or was he just saying that to avoid an argument? It was really difficult to read him, and something that she had never mastered even after being so close to him for eight years.

"I _will_ tell him, Legolas." She implored, as her grip on his hands tightened. "But, just when the time is right."

Legolas nodded his head in understanding but kept his eyes to the floor.

"Hey." Lynwen said softly as she placed one of her hands on the side of his face, trying to get his attention. "I love you, Legolas. And I want to be with you. Ok?"

Legolas raised his eyes from the floor and looked into hers. By the Valar she was so beautiful, and his heart soared at the thought that she was finally his. But he wasn't sure for how much longer he would be able to live with her obvious longing for Elrohir. He knew that it would take time for her feelings for the Rivendell twin to die down, but he was finding himself to be impatient; a trait that he had never endured before now. He'd waited long enough to have Lynwen in this way, and he didn't like the prospect of having to share her with anybody else. She was his, now. Not Elrohir's.

xxx

"Legolas, someone might see us!" Lynwen said through her laughter as she tried to squirm free of his hold.

"I can't help it. When you lie there like that, looking so incredibly beautiful, how am I supposed to not kiss you?" Legolas asked, before he buried his face into her neck and began to eagerly place kisses onto her skin, inciting even more laughter from Lynwen. And Ainion, who was lying on his back beside the loved-up pair, decided to join in the fun, and promptly pulled his toes out from his mouth and began giggling loudly.

Nearly two months had passed since Legolas and Lynwen had gotten together, and so far, they had managed to keep their relationship a secret. They spent what spare time they had, sneaking kisses when no one was looking, and holding hands away from prying eyes.

It was now December 19th, and the weather had turned cold of late. But despite this, the pair had decided to spend the afternoon outdoors, out in the woodland on the outskirts of Rivendell. The trees offered the privacy that they sought, and the fresh air that they wanted. And as he had been doing most days, Baby Ainion joined them for the day out.

"Won't he get cold?" Lynwen asked after Legolas had stopped smothering her with kisses, and their laughter had died down. Lynwen was lying on her back with Legolas hovering above her, and they were both looking at a bare-footed Ainion lying beside them.

"No, he'll be fine. Elves don't feel the cold like you weaklings do." Legolas teased, causing Lynwen to playfully smack him across the arm, before they both began giggling and kissing again.

"You know, I honestly think that this is the happiest I've ever been in my life." Legolas said as he gazed down at Lynwen beneath him. "I seriously can't stop smiling." He said with a big grin spread across his face. "You make me so happy, Lynwen."

Lynwen couldn't contain her big goofy grin as she gazed back up at him. Seriously, could this guy get any more amazing?!

Ainion made a sudden squeal at that moment, breaking the growing intensity between Legolas and Lynwen, and causing them to turn their heads to the side to look at the little munchkin. And Legolas began laughing as Ainion rolled onto his front and, in his attempt to stand up, clumsily fell forward, resulting in him face-planting the ground with his arse sticking up in the air.

"He's so funny!" Legolas said through his laughter, as Ainion quickly righted himself and began laughing, too. "Just think, we could have one of our own, one day." He said in happy wonder.

But the feel of Lynwen's body becoming rigid underneath him, instantly caused Legolas' laughter to stop, and for him to turn his head to look down at her. And the desolate way in which she was looking up at him, made his gut wrench with nervousness.

"What's wrong?" He asked her concernedly. But he didn't need to ask. He knew it was to do with the comment he'd made about them having a child, and he berated himself now for allowing himself to get carried away. But he couldn't help it. He always thought about the future that he and Lynwen could have together, and that included having children.

He sighed as he dropped his head between his shoulders. "I'm sorry, Lynwen." He said, sounding defeated.

But Lynwen responded by raising up her arms and placing her hands on the back of his head, prompting him to look down at her. "No, I'm the one who's sorry, Legolas." She sighed as she looked up at him for a number of moments. "I'm just, I don't know…"

"It's ok." He reassured her with a smile. "I'm moving too fast."

"No, that's not it." Lynwen interjected. "I love how things are going between us. It's just that, well, I feel a little wary making plans about our future."

"Why?"

Lynwen stared into his ice-blue eyes as she thought about her next words. How could she tell him that her reluctance to delve deeper into their relationship, was due to her feelings for Elrohir? She knew that she could never tell Legolas the truth about that, as he just wouldn't understand. And she wouldn't expect him to understand! What she was experiencing was seriously messed up! She knew that. But she just couldn't prevent her heart from aching for both Legolas _and_ Elrohir.

"I think that once our relationship is made public, then I can start concentrating on our future." She said. "But at the moment, all I'm concerned about is the prospect of us being discovered, and certainly not about how many children we're going to have." She said, hoping that her statement didn't come across as spiteful as it had probably sounded. But she couldn't help it. She felt incredibly stressed out by the fact that she was emotionally caught between two guys, and Legolas wasn't helping to alleviate that stress by talking about their future children!

But Legolas only nodded his head in response. "I understand." Was all he quietly said, making Lynwen wonder if he really did, or whether this was just him avoiding any confrontation, again. Either way, he didn't deserve this. He was such an incredible guy, and he deserved so much more than what she was currently offering.

"I'm sorry, Legolas. I didn't mean to snap at you." Lynwen said through a heartfelt sigh. "I'm just feeling a little stressed."

Legolas nodded his head again, but remained silent, causing Lynwen to wonder if he was upset. The thought of him being hurt, especially because of her, affected her greatly. She really wanted to make a go of things with Legolas, but Elrohir's constant presence was preventing her from doing that. Seeing Elrohir only reminded her that she loved him, too, which in turn, only put a dampener on her relationship with Legolas. Elrohir was simply distracting her from Legolas, and so because of this, she knew that her plan to leave Rivendell once and for all, needed to happen right away. She needed that space with Legolas, to allow their relationship to flourish with no inhibitions, but she also desperately needed that space away from Elrohir. If she was to ever get over the Rivendell twin, then she simply had to be away from him.

"Legolas, I've known for a while that I want to leave Imladris, but until recently, I couldn't think of where I would want to go. But after talking to Lord Boromir at that welcome party, I've decided that I want to travel to Gondor."

"Gondor? Why, there?" Legolas asked her confused.

"Because it's predominantly a human settlement, Legolas. I just feel that I would, I don't know, _belong_, there."

Legolas looked down at her with such sorrow etched into his face. He hated that she was still searching for some sort of belonging in her life and at the fact that she clearly still wasn't completely happy. "You belong with me, Lynwen." He simply stated, knowing in his heart that this was true.

Lynwen smiled up at him. "I know I do. Which is why I was hoping that you would come with me? I've spoken to Boromir and he has said that his men that he had arrived here with, will be leaving for Gondor in a few days, and that they have agreed to escort me back with them."

Lynwen's revelation hit Legolas hard, almost winding him in the process. "You're going to leave?!" He asked in a raised voice, his brows scrunched up in annoyance. "Well, were you planning on telling me about this?!"

"Well, I'm telling you now." Lynwen retaliated a little irritably. "And I only found out about it myself, yesterday, so just chill the hell out, will you!"

A moody silence fell upon them then, as Legolas' breathing began to escalate, making it clear that he was getting worked up over this.

He then abruptly pushed himself up from on top of Lynwen, coming to an immediate standing position next to her feet. Lynwen quickly sat up from her lying position as she confusedly looked up at him raking his hands through his hair. She picked up Ainion into her arms before standing up, too, coming to a standstill to the side of Legolas. "What's wrong?" She asked, confused.

Legolas paused in his manhandling of his hair, and turned to face Lynwen with his hands still placed on his head. There was something that he hadn't told her. Something that had happened yesterday. Something that was going to result in him leaving Rivendell but, regrettably, not with her.

He slowly dropped his hands from his head as he looked at her apprehensively. "Lynwen, I've been meaning to tell you something." He said slowly. "Yesterday, Lord Elrond chose me to join a fellowship, of sorts, meaning that I'll be leaving Imladris on a quest."

Lynwen scrunched up her brow. "Leaving? When? And, what quest?"

He looked directly into her eyes, hating that he couldn't tell her the whole truth. He'd sworn an oath. But it was for her own safety that she remain in the dark about what was really going on.

"We'll be leaving in a few days." He simply said.

Lynwen looked down to the ground in astonishment. She remained silent as she tried to decipher what it was that Legolas had just sprung on her. How long would he be gone? Would he be coming back? And more importantly, how long would he be apart from her? All these questions were fighting around in her head, but all she could seem to conjure up was anger towards him.

"You mean to tell me that you had the audacity to be cross with me for planning to leave Imladris, when you were just going to go ahead and do the exact same thing?! At least I had the decency to tell you!" She said with a raised voice. "And were you even going to tell me about this quest thing? Or were you just going to let me wake up to you gone, one day?"

"I'm sorry." Legolas responded pleadingly. "And of course I was going to tell you. Like you, I only found out yesterday, and I was waiting for the right time. But then you went and revealed the fact that you're leaving, yourself, in a few days, which just made me panic because I can't go with you." He sighed heavily as he took a step towards her. "And I apologise for getting angry," He reached up and placed his hands on her upper arms. "But Lynwen, I have to say that I'm not happy about your plan to leave. It's dangerous out there, and I would feel comforted knowing that you are safe here in Imladris."

Lynwen began shaking her head. "I can't stay here, Legolas. I have to leave. And those men of Gondor have given me a chance to put this place behind me once and for all, and I just don't know when I'll get given another opportunity like that."

Legolas swiftly moved his hands to the sides of her head. "You'll be given another opportunity to leave when I come back for you. Because I will come back for you, Lynwen."

"But when will that be?"

Legolas looked into her eyes, wondering how he was going to tell her that he actually had no idea. How long would it take to travel to Mordor, find a way inside, and then successfully destroy the One Ring that Sauron, himself, had created? And all of this, without being caught and/or killed?

"I have no idea." He answered truthfully. "But please, Lynwen, I beg you…" He began to say when he noticed her determined attitude. "… Don't leave Imladris. You'll be safe here."

But Lynwen only shook her head, again. "I'm sorry, Legolas, but I simply can't stay here. I'll go to Gondor as planned, and you can just come for me there when you're finished your quest." She shrugged her shoulders. "Gondor is closer to Mordor than Imladris, anyway."

Legolas' eyes widened in shock. "What? How do you know about Mordor?"

Lynwen smirked at him. "Legolas, it's obvious that this quest thing has something to do with that council meeting, a couple of months back. And you told me yourself that that was to do with that ring that Frodo has in his possession. Well, I know that it's the ring of Sauron. The one that was cut from his hand. And after doing some research, I know that it can only be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom. Which is where you're clearly going to."

But Legolas' expression only became sterner. "Lynwen, you mustn't utter a single word of that to anyone! There are people out there who would stop at nothing to get their hands on that ring, and to get their hands on anyone who know anything about it." He run his hand through his hair again. "Lynwen, the fact that you know that much, puts you in tremendous danger. I just can't allow you to leave Imladris now. It wouldn't be safe."

Lynwen just smiled. "Legolas, I think you're exaggerating a little bit. How could anyone possibly realise that I know anything about that ring? And I'm not an idiot, I'll keep my mouth shut about the whole thing." She paused for a moment then, as her expression fell into a look of seriousness, her eyes gazing into Legolas' with their usual determination. "But I will be leaving for Gondor, Legolas. Either with your blessing or without." She said with finality.

What was he to do? Tie her up and trap her here? As much as he wanted her to stay here, he knew that he didn't have a say in what she wanted. Although he felt bonded to her on some level, they weren't officially married or anything. Hell, they still hadn't even had sex, yet! Regrettably he wasn't her husband, nor had he even officially been made her boyfriend, so how could he make her stay in a place that she hated?

But despite this, he still couldn't prevent himself from getting angry at Lynwen's determination to point blank ignore his requests, wondering if their relationship was always going to be based on what _she_ wanted.

"Very well." Legolas eventually said a little curtly, as he looked at her with a cold stare. "Come, it's getting late, and Anira will be wondering where Ainion is."

And with that, he turned from Lynwen and began walking away, leaving her cringing at the bad feeling that was now hanging between them.

xxx

It was now the evening of December 21st, and Lynwen was in her room, finishing packing up her backpack. The three men from Gondor that she would be travelling with, were departing for the human kingdom the following morning, and despite what Legolas, Aragorn, Arwen, Elladan or Anira said, she was going with them, and that was that. She just couldn't stay in Rivendell any longer. Although she was going to miss those particular people, greatly, she just needed to be away from Elrond, and her heart just couldn't bear to be near Elrohir anymore. She desperately needed to start afresh somewhere else.

Legolas hadn't really said much to her in the last two days, making Lynwen believe that he was still angry with her. But Lynwen had thought that he would understand her predicament more than anyone. He knew what it felt like to be desperate to leave your homeland in search of a better life elsewhere, so it upset her that he wasn't being very understanding about her desire to be rid of Rivendell, for good. She just hoped that this moody silence between them, didn't mean that they would depart on bad terms when she left tomorrow morning.

A knock sounded on her bedroom door, breaking her from her thoughts. "Come in." She shouted over her shoulder.

Legolas entered into her chambers, carrying a large food tray. The clanking of the wine glasses balancing on the tray as Legolas gently kicked the bedroom door closed behind him, forced Lynwen to turn around to face him. They remained silent for a number of seconds as they only stared at each other from opposite sides of the room.

"You're still leaving, then?" Legolas asked solemnly as he looked from her to her backpack.

Lynwen just sighed in frustration as she looked away from him and re-focused her attention on her pack on the bed. She didn't have the energy to argue with him, and clearly he was still having trouble accepting the fact that she was going to be leaving for Gondor in the morning.

She heard him set the food tray down to the side before sensing him standing still, again, feeling his eyes boring into the back of her head as she continued to pack up the last of her things. But stubbornly, she didn't want to acknowledge him, and kept her back to him.

"I brought dinner with me." He eventually said, breaking the heavy silence. "I thought that maybe we could dine together here, tonight?"

"Yeah, fine." Was all Lynwen tersely replied with, continuing to keep her back to him.

Legolas sighed heavily as he rubbed the palm of his hand across his forehead. "Lynwen, please don't be like this. Not if this is going to be our last night together."

Lynwen fastened up her backpack and lifted it up off her bed, setting it down on the floor before she turned to face him. "No, Legolas, it's you who's 'being like this'; not being understanding. You of all people should know why I'm leaving here…"

"Yes, I do understand, Lynwen." He interrupted her. "But I just think that now is not the best time. Trust me, it's not safe out there, and I can't help but fear for your safety." He walked towards her then, coming to a standstill directly in front of her. "Will you not even consider waiting here until I come back for you?"

But Lynwen looked at him with dire worry and dread etched into her eyes. "Legolas," She said with a broken voice as her emotions began to take over. "What if you don't come back? You said yourself that it's not safe out there, and what you're setting out to do, is… well… it's a suicide mission."

Legolas opened his mouth to speak, but Lynwen cut him off. "Forget about this quest, Legolas, and just come with me to Gondor." She pleaded.

Legolas stepped forward and wrapped her up in his arms, nestling her face into the crook of his neck.

"I can't, Lynwen. You know that." He breathed into her hair. "Trust me, the last thing I want is to be away from you, and if it wasn't for this quest, then I would be coming with you to Gondor, or to wherever it is that you would like to go to." He breathed deeply. "But I have to do this, Lynwen. And please understand that I'm actually doing this for you."

Lynwen brought her head back and met his light-blue eyes, causing Legolas to softly smile down at her.

"I love you more than anything, Lynwen, and I want you to be able to live out your life in a safe and peaceful Middle Earth. I want to personally eradicate all the dangers and evil from this world, ensuring that you will always be safe and happy."

"But I'm happy with _you_." She responded a little desperately. "All I need in my life is _you_, Legolas. So please don't go." Her eyes frantically searched his, displaying her desperation to keep him with her, which startled Legolas, somewhat. He was surprised by her sudden despair for his safety, as she hadn't really revealed any of these concerns over the past two days. He knew that she was upset with his reluctance to support her in her decision to leave for Gondor, but had had no idea as to how much she was actually fearing for his own safety, as much as he was fearing for hers.

He brought her back into his tight embrace, deeply inhaling her sweet-smelling hair as he rested his cheek on the top of her head. "I'll come back from this quest, Lynwen." He breathed out. "Knowing that I have you waiting for me, will ensure I survive it."

Lynwen responded by only gripping the clothes on his back even tighter, finding herself scared to let him go. She wanted to believe him more than anything, but could he really guarantee that he would survive this dangerous mission that he was being sent on? The mere thought that he may not, sent a wave of nausea through her, making her grip him even more tightly. Her life was quite simply unimaginable without him in it. She needed him in every aspect of her life, and felt that she couldn't survive if she was to lose him.

Legolas raised her head to look at him by hooking his finger under her chin, taking a moment to gaze into her glazed and broken-looking eyes. "I love you so much." He whispered painfully as he took a deep steadying breath. "And... I'll support your decision to leave for Gondor."

Lynwen's eyes widened at his words as a small smile pulled at her lips. "Really?"

"Yeah, really." He said as he also smiled. "But it's not like you were going to listen to me, anyway." He said through a breathy laugh. "You were always going to Gondor, no matter what."

Lynwen couldn't help but to laugh at his accurate judgement. He knew her so well. She only hoped that, despite his declaration of support, that he wasn't still angry with her stubbornness and reluctance to listen to his wishes.

"Have you packed your weapons?" He asked.

Lynwen gestured to her backpack. "Yes, my hunting knife is in there, and Meldiron's twin blades are over by the door."

Legolas nodded, feeling a tiny bit more comforted that she would at least be well armed on this journey of hers. "And you remember all that we learnt in our training sessions over the years?"

Lynwen smiled at him. "Yes, Legolas, I remember everything that you and Meldiron taught me. Don't worry," she raised her hand to his cheek. "I'll be fine."

Legolas looked down to the ground as he reached up and placed his hand over hers. "Ok." He said a little hesitantly. "But I'll never stop worrying for your safety, Lynwen." He raised his head to look at her again, clearly trying to hide the apprehension behind his serious expression. "Come, let's eat." He eventually said.

xxx

A few hours later and the two of them were laid out on Lynwen's bed, wrapped up in each other's arms as they slowly kissed. Both appeared lost in the moment as they proceeded to embrace each other like their very lives depended on it.

Lynwen didn't know if it was his worry for her safety, or at the fact that this was going to be their last time together for goodness knew how long, but Legolas couldn't seem to contain his desperation to hold her tightly in his arms, as he continued to kiss her with a yearning that far outmatched any of their previous encounters.

"I could happily spend the rest of my life kissing these lips." Legolas breathed against Lynwen's mouth.

"Then don't ever stop." She whispered in response, her words seemingly encouraging Legolas to kiss her more deeply. She knew that he had kissed a number of ellith in the past, and couldn't help but wonder if this particular moment rivalled those previous encounters. The only other person she'd ever kissed was Elrohir, so it wasn't like she was the most experienced person in the world. But then again, if what she'd always suspected about Legolas was true, then neither was he.

His tongue began to delve into her mouth more deeply as his hand slowly glided down the side of her body, coming to a rest at her waist. His breaths were beginning to deepen and quicken by the second, letting Lynwen know that he was getting just as carried away as she was. Her desire for him was increasing rapidly, making her heart pound in her chest as his firm grip on her hip tightened.

Suddenly, just kissing Legolas wasn't satisfying her enough. She wanted more. She _needed_ more. All she could think about was how, come tomorrow morning, they'd be parting ways for an unknown amount of time, which only added to her concern that Legolas was going to be putting himself in direct danger when he set out on this quest. She was so concerned for his safety, trying hard to suppress the nagging thought in the back of her mind that she might actually never see him again, that she just desperately needed to be joined with him. Her need to be connected to him, to show him just how much she loved him and needed him in her life, was taking over her body as she began to imagine Legolas' hands touching her in places that they never had before.

Lynwen shifted her body, forcing Legolas onto his back as she straddled his hips. Their kissing never broke though, despite the abrupt manner in which Lynwen had changed their position, and they both continued to sensually suck on each other's lips and caress their tongues together, desperately, but slowly, exploring each other's mouths.

But it was when Lynwen's hand reached behind her and began to leisurely glide up Legolas' inner thigh, that he abruptly pulled away from the kiss and looked up at her in total shock.

"Lynwen, what are you doing?"

But Lynwen only responded by sitting up straight and looking down at him with a shy and timid smile on her face. She slowly and a little hesitantly trailed her fingers from his thigh to her own, nervously gliding her hand up the front of her body, and coming to a rest at the buttons of her shirt, all the while, never breaking her eye-contact with him. And when she began to undo those buttons at a snail's pace, starting at her neck and working her way down, revealing more and more of her bare torso with each passing second, Legolas gulped hard as he watched the imminent strip-show in stunned silence. Then after she undid the last button at the base of her stomach, allowing the shirt to fall open slightly and revealing her smooth, flat stomach to him, she reached down and took a hold of his hand in hers. By the Valar, she needed him more than anything. She was too proud to admit her fears at leaving Rivendell, moving to a strange kingdom to start a new life, and at the thought that she could lose Legolas for good, but secretly, she just needed some reassurance. She needed Legolas' touch, his affections, his love, to make her feel comforted and grounded.

And she wanted him more than anything, she knew that, but still, that didn't stop her from feeling incredibly self-conscious all of a sudden. Legolas had been her very best friend for eight years, and they'd shared in so many things together. But never before had he seen her bare breasts. Never before had he seen the most intimate parts of her body. And never before had he seen her so exposed and vulnerable.

She took a deep steadying breath to calm her nerves and ever so slowly, she guided the palm of his hand up the front of her body, grazing his fingertips on her bare skin as she directed his hand upwards.

Legolas hadn't realised it, but he had been holding his breath the whole time, anxiously anticipating Lynwen's next move. And he released that breath in one, long fluid exhale when Lynwen slowly moved one side of her shirt aside, and gently rested the palm of his hand on top of her bare left breast.

"Lynwen…"

But Legolas' pitiful whimper of a plea was cut short as he felt Lynwen slowly grind herself against his rapidly growing hardness, making him forget all reason in that moment. All he could do was relax his head back into the pillows and close his eyes as he relished in the feel of Lynwen's heat smothering his most intimate area, and the soft, spongy feel of her bare breast under his fingertips.

And as he opened his eyes and looked up at Lynwen still straddling him; with her own eyes closed and both of her hands resting atop his on her breast, he knew in that moment that an army of orcs wouldn't be able to stop him from taking her. She was his, now. And he was determined to make that fact official.

He pushed his upper body up from the mattress, coming to an upright sitting position with Lynwen still straddling his legs. He prompted her to open her eyes by moving his hand away from her breast and instead, glided his fingers back into her hair, fully revealing her face to him. He just looked at her in silence for a number of moments, slowly gazing around her face before landing his stare back onto her eyes. A loving smile pulled at his lips as he got lost in her dark-blue depths, admiring the shyness that was reflected in them. It wasn't often that he saw his boisterous and fiery Lynwen looking so coy, and he took a number of moments to just relish in that endearing emotion that she was currently displaying.

"I love you so much." He softly whispered against her mouth as he rested his forehead against hers.

"I love you, too." She replied just as quietly, but with no less meaning in her voice.

Legolas gazed at her lovingly for a few more moments, before he slowly guided her mouth to his, taking her lips against his own so delicately that their combined hot breaths felt more forceful than the kiss, itself. They continued kissing in a gentle and unhurried manner for several minutes, taking their time to savour in the taste and feel of each other's mouths.

And as the kiss deepened, Lynwen tried to inwardly summon a little bit of confidence before she hesitantly took a hold of her shirt and slowly slid it off of her arms as she pulled away from the kiss. And as she sheepishly looked down at the mattress, she completely removed the shirt from her body before discarding it onto the floor, holding her breath as she anticipated Legolas' reaction. She hesitantly turned her head back around to face him, feeling incredibly anxious that she was now completely topless, and was unable to stop the deep and nervous breaths that were escaping her lungs. And the desire to cover herself up with her hands was so strong that she had to use all of her strength to force her arms to remain by her sides. Consequently, she suddenly found herself looking down at the bed again, feeling far too self-conscious to meet his gaze.

But it was Legolas' hand, coming to gently rest upon her cheek that caused her to slowly look up at him again, seeing that he was gazing into her eyes as his own shone with warmth and adoration.

"You're so beautiful..." He whispered in immense wonder. "... and you don't even realise it." He shook his head slightly in disbelief. "You're the most beautiful creation I've ever laid eyes upon, Lynwen. And I still can't believe that you're here with me. Like this." He said, his full lips displaying a small, but loving and genuine smile.

Lynwen smiled in return, her stomach uncontrollably doing somersaults by his obvious love for her, with her own heart aching for him more than anything. And after they stared into each other's eyes for a silent, but endearing number of moments, Lynwen decided to make the next move by slowly beginning to undo the clasps at the front of Legolas' tunic. He looked down to her hands, and watched nervously as her delicate fingers trembled slightly as they proceeded to unfasten his top, eventually coming to land on the last clasp at the base of his stomach. And he held his breath as Lynwen undid the final fastening and spread open the tunic to expose his bare torso, followed by her hands leisurely gliding down his chest. And when her hands reached the base of his stomach, with her fingers grazing the waistband of his breeches, they both looked up at each other with hesitant expressions on their faces. It was now clear which direction this make-out session was taking, and both were trying to conjure up the courage to take it to the next level.

But it was as if they could read each other's minds, because suddenly, they both attacked each other's mouths with a fiery and erratic kiss, desperately panting as their tongues sensually and frantically, explored the other. And when Lynwen took a hold of the collar of Legolas' tunic and began to push it off his shoulders, Legolas assisted her by abruptly shrugging his arms out of the clothing, before tossing it onto the floor beside her shirt. They then immediately wrapped their arms tightly around each other's backs, pressing their naked chests against one another's as they kissed each other with a yearning that displayed the deep love that they felt for each other.

Legolas' hands glided up Lynwen's naked back before they tangled in her hair, as she reached down to the waistband of his breeches. She fumbled blindly with the buttons at his waist without breaking the heated kiss until she eventually undid them all, before attempting to push the clothing down over his hips. Legolas pulled away from her mouth and quickly sat back, swiftly sliding the breeches down his legs before kicking them onto the floor. Lynwen followed suit, and eagerly removed her leggings before flinging them from the bed, too.

They both looked at each other then, from their positions a few feet apart; Lynwen kneeling wearing just her knickers, and Legolas sitting wearing only his underwear. And the look of deep love and desire flashing in Legolas' eyes encouraged Lynwen to move across the bed towards him. She made to straddle his legs again, but was stopped by Legolas' hands firmly gripping her bare thighs, as a sudden look of anxiety crossed his features. He then, without any warning, flipped her over onto her back, surprising Lynwen before he placed his hands on the mattress either side of her head, and hovered above her. The look of anxiety was still etched into his face as his eyes stared down at her with some sort of determination.

"Lynwen, I..." He was breathing hard now, but Lynwen wasn't sure if it was due to arousal or nervousness. "... I need to be in control of this." He said hoarsely, his eyes frantically scanning her face before coming back to meet her gaze. "Please."

Lynwen only nodded her head in response as she looked up at him. He dropped his head between his shoulders in what appeared to be relief, as his tense muscles relaxed slightly. And as he brought his head back up and looked down at her again, Lynwen could see that that brief episode of anxiety had gone, and was now replaced with his previous expression of longing and deep love as his beautiful light-blue eyes blazed with emotion.

He bent his elbows and lowered his body down until his lips met with hers again, as Lynwen's hands reached up to his head, passionately gliding her fingers through his hair. And as Legolas' hips met with hers, Lynwen instinctively spread her legs, allowing him to get closer. And Legolas did. He completely lowered the bottom half of his body to hers, letting her feel his hard desire that was protruding from between his legs, as his carnal instincts began to push his hips forward, forcing his erection against her intimate centre.

Lynwen moaned into his mouth at this action as his erect shaft continued to put pressure against her most intimate area, wonderfully awakening all of her senses to his touch. And when Legolas began to place kisses along her jaw line before sensually moving his lips down over her throat, she closed her eyes as an immense feeling of bliss washed over her, feeling her heart bursting with ardour for this wonderful ellon that she had come to love so much.

Legolas sat back on his heels as his hands softly glided down Lynwen's stomach, then her hips, before coming to rest on the fabric of her underwear. He just stared down at her white cotton knickers with a conflicted expression on his face, as his hands froze on her body. He looked up after a few moments and met her stare, his eyes seemingly asking her for permission to continue. And as Lynwen responded with a sincere smile and a slight nod of her head, Legolas' rigid posture relaxed as he took a couple of deep breaths. Then, after he appeared to calm himself a little, he took a hold of the waistband of her knickers and slowly began to pull them down over her waist, her hips, and then her legs, discarding them onto the floor as he gazed down at her naked body with a look of awe, but also with an obvious show of nervousness.

Lynwen sat up at that moment, placing her hands on Legolas' face in her attempt to ease his nerves. She kissed his lips softly and delicately at first, before deepening the kiss the more she could feel his persona relax. And after a number of moments, Legolas found his confidence once more, and gently pushed Lynwen back down onto the bed as he followed suit. He hovered above her again as his tongue delved into her mouth and his hips came to rest upon hers.

And the feeling of Legolas' hardness pushing against her nakedness, had Lynwen's hands frantically reaching down to grab a hold of his underwear. "Please, take them off." Lynwen panted, her strained voice almost begging him.

Legolas didn't waste a second, and swiftly pushed the offending, and final piece of clothing down over his slender hips and toned legs, before kicking them onto the floor. He immediately lowered himself back down on top of her and began to devour her lips again, allowing his instincts to guide his hips between Lynwen's, now, spread legs. And as soon as Legolas began to feel Lynwen's heat on the tip of his erection, he immediately placed one of his hands on her hip, in his automatic attempt to keep her steady and to help guide himself. He slowly began to push into her, all the while, never breaking the passionate and heated kiss between them.

But when he had entered her by only a fraction, the overwhelming feeling of euphoria that began to surge through him, caused him to tilt his head up towards the ceiling, his eyes to close tightly, and a deep-throated groan to escape his lips. And after only a couple of shallow and gentle thrusts with his hips, he finally sank himself deep inside her, inciting a synchronised cry of bliss from the two of them.

Legolas remained stationary for a moment, wanting to experience every sensation that being buried deep within Lynwen, was creating. Having never been in this situation before, he had never imagined just how amazing this could feel. All those years of silently pleasuring himself alone in his chambers, was nothing compared to how being engulfed in Lynwen's warmth felt like at that moment. And apart from having Lynwen in his life, it was probably one of the best things that he had ever experienced.

He brought his head back down to look at Lynwen beneath him, seeing that her eyes were gently closed and her lips were shut into a tight straight line, as small murmurs of pleasure could be heard coming from her closed mouth. He dropped his head between his shoulders, and began to slowly withdraw his hard shaft from within her, instantly feeling the cold air the more he pulled out. And once he had withdrawn his erection to the tip, he looked down between their bodies and watched himself push back into her, relishing in the soft moans coming from Lynwen, and at the overwhelming pleasure that being back inside her was creating throughout his body. By the Valar, he had never experienced anything like this before, and he never wanted it to end.

He brought his head back up and looked down at her again, seeing that her eyes were now open and looking straight up at him. They both smiled at each other affectionately before Legolas leant down and placed his mouth upon hers. They continued to softly kiss at an incredibly slow pace, as Legolas hooked his hand under one of Lynwen's knees, bringing her leg up higher, and allowing himself to sink even deeper. Finally, after eight years of being completely and utterly in love with this woman, spending all of his waking hours pining for her, and all of his sleeping hours dreaming about her, here he was, making love to her in a way that he had only ever dreamed of until now. Here he was, finally ending his eight-year-long battle to keep his feelings about her hidden away, and instead, was now openly showing and sharing with her at how much he truly loved her. She was everything to him; his reason for living and breathing, and he knew in that moment, as they continued to take joy in joining their bodies into one being, that he was forever and firmly bonded with Lynwen's soul. And he felt nothing but pure elation at that fact, realising that he may have just married the woman of his dreams.

They slowly continued to rock their bodies together in an unhurried manner for several more minutes, as their tongues continued to sensually glide into each other's mouths, with Lynwen's moans and Legolas' grunts of pleasure being muffled by their kiss. And with each deep and slow thrust that Legolas made into Lynwen's body, only brought the both of them closer and closer to completion, making their cries more pronounced, and Legolas' pumping to become faster.

"Lynwen..." Legolas croaked as he pulled away from her mouth slightly. "I'm so close." He warned in a strained voice, before burying his face into the crook of her neck as his hips continued to drive his hard shaft in and out of her. "Oh sweet Elbereth, Lynwen..." He softly cried against her skin. "I'm so close, I... I can't hold it any longer."

"Then, don't." Lynwen breathed in response as she reached down and placed her hands onto Legolas' ass, forcing him to thrust into her as deeply as possible, as her fingernails dug into his soft flesh. Just feeling him buried deep within her like this, brought on not only an indescribable amount of sexual pleasure, but also an intensely profound warming of her heart, connecting her to Legolas on an emotional level that she had never experienced so strongly before. And the deep connection that she could feel between them in that moment, was so great and so powerful, that it almost brought tears to her eyes.

"I love you, Legolas. I love you so much." Lynwen whimpered as she felt the wonderful sensation of a deep-rooted climax begin to form within her, setting her nerve-endings on fire as it began to surge throughout her body at a lightening speed. And within seconds she was crying out into the large bedroom as she allowed the wonderful orgasm to fully take control.

Legolas had had no idea until that very moment that he would actually be able to feel Lynwen's orgasm. And so he hadn't been prepared for her inner muscles to start convulsing around him, squeezing him so vividly and finally pushing him over the edge that he had been teetering on for the last few moments. He thrust into her hard, and one last time before he stilled, and the most intensifying orgasm that he had ever experienced in his life, soared through him at a hundred miles per hour, making his body quiver. His face was still buried in the crook of Lynwen's neck as he moaned loud, deep and long against her skin, feeling his seed plant itself deep inside her. Claiming her.

They clung onto each other for a number of silent moments as they both rode out the last of their orgasms, their naked bodies pressed together tightly, as they both desperately panted for oxygen.

After a minute or so, Legolas eventually lifted up his head and looked down at her with a loving warmth that lit up his blue eyes and put an adoring genuine smile on his face, showing off his slight dimples. "I've never experienced anything like that, before!" He said in wonder, his chest still heaving from his breathlessness. "By the Gods, Lynwen, that was amazing!"

Lynwen couldn't help but to laugh at his obvious excitement, even laughing into his mouth when he suddenly began kissing her frantically.

He pulled back and looked down at her again, his face looking more passive, but his eyes still shining. "I didn't think it was possible to love someone so much." He said as he began shaking his head slightly in wonderment. "I honestly can't find the words to describe how much you mean to me, Lynwen. How much you will always mean to me..."

Legolas gently pulled out of her and laid himself down beside her, supporting his upper body with his elbow as his head rested in the palm of his hand. He continued to look down at her, but his expression had changed to one of confliction, as he wondered if he should tell Lynwen the truth. To tell her that not only was he in love with her, but that he had bonded his soul to hers, meaning that his life was now, quite literally in her hands.

"What's wrong?" Lynwen asked as she turned on to her side to face him.

Legolas stared at her for a number of quiet moments, knowing that he needed to be honest with her, but didn't know how she was going to take the news. He was petrified that this revelation could scare Lynwen away, but he just couldn't keep it to himself anymore. It was eating him up, and he just needed to get it out! He took a deep breath before he sighed heavily. "Lynwen, I need to tell you something. I probably should've spoken to you before I allowed things to get out of control, but I just didn't know how..."

Lynwen immediately raised her upper body up onto her elbow. "Ok, you're scaring me a little."

Legolas quickly cupped her face with his spare hand. "No, don't be scared." He tried to reassure her as he shifted his body towards her a little more. "It's nothing that affects you." He quickly said, hoping to restore confidence in her uncertainty.

He sighed again, taking a deep breath before continuing. "You've heard of how elves have the ability to bond with each other, haven't you?"

Lynwen slowly nodded her head, wondering where this conversation was going. "Yes, your souls bind together for all of eternity. It's kind of how elves marry each other, isn't it?"

"Yes, that's right." He quietly said. "Well... I..." He took another deep, steadying breath. "...I didn't mean for it to happen, but please understand how much I love you, Lynwen." Legolas implored. "But... I allowed my feelings for you to take over any rational thoughts, and... well..." He stared into her eyes with a look of worry as he tried to brace himself for her reaction to what he was about to declare.

"I've bonded myself to you, Lynwen." He said with panic in his eyes and apprehension in his voice. "My soul is bound to yours for all eternity."


	29. Til We Meet Again

_A huge thank you to the two Guest reviewers, and to Tess and Michelle, too. Your words are so kind and encourage me, greatly!_

_And apologies if the Sindarin in this chapter is incorrect. Feel free to correct me if it's wrong. :)_

Chapter 29 - 'Til We Meet Again

Lynwen could only stare back at him in stunned silence. Her eyes were wide and her mouth agape. He had bonded himself to her? What did that mean for him? What did it mean for _them? _Was he now doomed to die when she would?

A mixture of emotions began to surge through her; shock, anger, worry, dread. How could he allow this to happen? How could he do something so life changing for the two of them without discussing it with her first?

She slowly sat up, firmly holding the bed sheet to her naked chest, as she stared at the wall on the opposite side of the room. "How can you say that this doesn't affect me?" Lynwen asked in a quiet but cold voice, her back still to Legolas. "Isn't it now likely that you'll die when I do? How can you put that sort of guilt on me, without discussing it with me first?!" Her voice was now raised as her anger began to come to the forefront of her emotions. She twisted her upper body to look at him sitting beside her. "I can't believe you've done this to yourself, Legolas! You've given yourself a death sentence!" Lynwen got up off the bed, firmly holding the sheet to her naked body as she frantically began to search for her discarded clothes.

Legolas instantly panicked at her reaction and at the fact that it looked like she was planning to leave, and he scrambled up off the bed, too. "Lynwen, please." He begged as he strode over to her, still completely naked himself, and grabbed a hold of her upper arm in his attempt to stop her from leaving.

But Lynwen shrugged him off of her. "No, Legolas!" She shouted as she proceeded to pick up her strewn clothes from the floor. "I can't talk to you right now." She said before heading for her adjoining bathroom.

But Legolas wasn't going to let her walk away from him. Not now. Not after they had just made the most beautiful kind of love to each other. He just couldn't!

He strode after her and firmly grabbed a hold of her upper arms, pushing her up against the bedroom wall, and startling her into a stunned silence. He viciously snatched her clothes from her with one of his hands and threw them onto the floor behind him. "Lynwen, listen to me." He said sternly, causing Lynwen to look at him shocked, making her unable to remember a time when he had ever been so forceful with her. He seemed oblivious to the fact that he was still completely naked, or maybe he just didn't care, as his ice-blue eyes stared into hers with an intensity that trapped her in his glare and made her breath hitch.

"Lynwen." He exhaled, his chest rapidly rising up and down as he attempted to get his breathing under control. "I'm sorry I didn't speak to you about it before, but I honestly thought I had my feelings for you under control." He said with desperation in his voice. "But when I saw you packing your bag in Mirkwood the day that you left with Aragorn, I was truly devastated. And consequently, I lost the fight with my emotions."

Lynwen narrowed her eyes at his words. "Mirkwood?" She asked barely above a whisper as she tried to process what he'd just said. "You mean this happened back in March?"

Legolas' steely eyes continued to hold her gaze, as he slowly nodded his head. "It was something that happened beyond my control, Lynwen, and has only intensified since we reunited here, in Imladris." He released his grip on her arms and placed the palms of his hands on the wall either side of her head, dropping his own head between his shoulders, breathing hard and fast as he looked down at the floor. "So even if I had spoken to you beforehand, Lynwen, it still wouldn't have stopped this bond from forming." He lifted his head back up and looked her directly in the eyes. "I'm so sorry if you feel pressurised in any way by my admission, Lynwen. That certainly wasn't my intention at all. But please believe me when I say that this doesn't affect you in any way. You are in no way obliged to stand by me."

A heavy silence fell between them as Legolas dropped his head between his shoulders and looked down at the floor again, deflated. His upper back was rising up and down rapidly, clearly displaying his erratic and heavy breathing. And Lynwen noticed how the muscles in his arms were tensed tight, twitching and flexing from the mixture of emotions he was clearly feeling, as he continued to keep her boxed in. Trapped.

She continued to look at his tense shoulders for a number of seconds, thinking about which of her millions of questions she should ask him first. But there was one question that stuck out amongst all the rest, just begging to be asked.

"Does this mean that we're married?"

Lynwen's quiet question caused Legolas to lift his head back up to look at her. He just stared at her while he tried to think about what she had just asked him. Could an elven bond be mutually formed between an elf and a human? He honestly had no idea. He knew for sure that his soul was bonded to hers, but was it possible for hers to be able to bond to him? Was it enough that it was only his soul that was tied in to be able to refer to her as his wife? Or did they both need to be bonded for an elven marriage to become valid?

"I don't know." He eventually said through an exhale. "I think for us to be married in that way, your soul would need to be bonded to mine, as well. And I don't know if that's possible for a human."

Lynwen thought about his words for a moment. "How would I know if my soul was bonded to yours?"

Legolas looked to the side, staring aimlessly at nothing, his brow furrowed. "It's hard to explain. It's something you just know. Something you just feel deep inside of you. It's like the person that you're bonded to, almost becomes a part of you. You can feel their emotions inside of you, enabling you to share in their pain and happiness." He shook his head as he looked downwards. "It's hard to explain." He sighed, allowing a silence to fall between them.

"Legolas?" Lynwen said, causing Legolas to lift his head again to look at her.

"I think I know what you're talking about. I think I've felt this, bond thing, myself."

Legolas' eyes began to rapidly search hers for more information, as a mixture of panic and hope enveloped him. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Lynwen began. "When we were in my Mirkwood chambers the day I left, back when you said your bond first began to form, I remember being able to feel this strange alien sensation within me. I could feel this intense emotional pain in my heart, but somehow, I just knew that it wasn't my own pain that I was experiencing. It was yours."

Legolas' eyes widened at her declaration. "You could feel what I was feeling?" He asked in disbelief.

Lynwen nodded her head. "And that hasn't been the only time." She continued. "There was also another moment when we were saying our goodbyes at the Forest Gate in Mirkwood. And also during the night that we kissed for the first time, a couple of months ago. And tonight, well..." Lynwen's cheeks began to flush a little red. "... well, I felt you much more intensely than I ever have in the past. Emotionally, I mean! Well, physically too, of course... um... well, you know what I mean." She quickly added, looking down at the floor in embarrassment.

Legolas only continued to stare at her in stunned silence. What Lynwen had just described, sounded exactly like a bond of some sort. But she's a human. Was it possible for her to bond herself to him? Wasshe in fact, already bonded to him? And if so, did it have the same intensity as his? Could she fade if something was to happen to him?

"What are you thinking?" Lynwen asked. "Is it a bad thing that I can feel your emotions?" Lynwen was highly confused, and still very much riled by the whole thing.

Legolas' eyes instantly softened and lit up with the huge smile that quickly spread across his face. "No, Lynwen." He said with a slight shake of his head. "It's a wonderful thing! Don't you see?" He brought down his hands from the wall and entwined his fingers with hers, lovingly stroking her skin with his thumb. "We're bonded to each other. Our souls have connected in a way that makes us unbreakable!" His grip on her hands tightened in his excitement. "We're soul mates now. Bound to one another for all eternity!"

"Except, I won't be around 'for all eternity'." Lynwen dryly remarked, feeling her anger towards Legolas returning drastically. Even though he had explained that this bond had formed through no fault of his own, a part of her still suspected that he could have tried a bit harder to prevent it. Hell, elves had relationships and jumped into bed with each other all the time, but that didn't mean that they were then automatically bound to one another. No. It was something that was talked about and mutually agreed upon between the parties involved before a bond was formed. So why should her and Legolas be any different?

But Legolas didn't seem to pick up on Lynwen's solemn mood and smart remark, only smiling even wider as he suddenly embraced her in a tight hug, holding her firmly to his chest as he nestled his cheek upon the top of her head. "I can't believe we're actually married!"

Neither could Lynwen. This was all happening too fast. She loved Legolas, of course, but she was now bound to him? And it had all happened without her even realising it! Yet Legolas had known about his own bond all along and hadn't said anything!

She felt cheated. Lied to. Tricked, even. She needed to get out of there. She felt suffocated suddenly, and desperately needed some air.

She pushed herself out of Legolas' embrace and silently moved around him, picking up her clothes again from the bedroom floor.

"What's wrong?" Legolas asked, confused.

Lynwen stood upright after bending down to retrieve her clothes and sighed deeply. Her back was still turned to him when she began to speak. "Married, Legolas? Really?" She said as she turned to face him.

Legolas only continued to look at her with confusion etched into his features.

"Don't you see how messed up that is?!" She asked furiously. "I have sex with some guy, and then find out afterwards that I'm now married to him?!" She shouted.

Legolas remained silent, trying hard not to show how much Lynwen's harsh words were cutting him up inside.

"Well, it's not right Legolas! I should have had a say in this. I mean, please forgive my naivety, but I thought couples usually at least talked about and agreed upon marriage beforehand. And I'm pretty sure one half of the couple doesn't usually find themselves tricked into a marriage after believing that them having sex was just that; having sex, and nothing more!"

Legolas gulped hard as he tried to suppress the hurt that Lynwen was causing him. "Is that all it was to you, tonight?" He asked in a quiet voice. "Just sex?"

Lynwen only stared back at him, knowing that that wasn't true. Tonight had been truly magical for her. But her anger was keeping her stubbornness at the forefront of her emotions, forcing her to remain silent as she only looked back at him.

Legolas took a deep breath after no response came from Lynwen, bending down to retrieve his breeches before eagerly sliding them on. "Regardless of what you think, Lynwen, I didn't trick you into this marriage. It's as much of a surprise for me as it is for you." He said as he buttoned up his fly. He looked at her again while he dropped his arms to his sides in defeat as he saw the defiant look upon her face. "You have to believe me Lynwen." He pleaded. "I had no control over this, I swear that to you!"

But another alarming thought came to Lynwen at that moment, overshadowing this current predicament that they had both found themselves in. If Legolas had had no control over this bond forming, then what else did he possibly not have any control over?

"Legolas?" Lynwen's voice was now shaking from nervousness. "Please tell me I'm not pregnant." She said, referring to the unique ability of the elves to be able to dictate when they or their partners will become pregnant.

Legolas could only continue to stare at her with sadness in his eyes for a number of silent moments before he slowly began shaking his head. "You're not pregnant, Lynwen." He said in a confident, but quiet and pained sounding voice.

But Lynwen only narrowed her eyes. "How can you be so sure, Legolas? I mean, you said yourself that you had no control over our bond forming. So who's to say that you also couldn't prevent yourself from impregnating me?"

Legolas cringed at her use of words. "You make it sound so cold, Lynwen. So... clinical." He shook his head in disgust. "Would it have been such a bad thing if you were pregnant? I thought we were in this for the long term, Lynwen? I thought we were in love?!"

"We are!" Lynwen implored. "But I think it's a bit soon in our relationship to start planning a family."

"But we've known each other for eight years, Lynwen!" Legolas threw his hands up in exasperation, causing Lynwen to remain silent as she only continued to look back at him.

Yes they had known each other for eight years, but she had only been in love with him for a number of months, and for her, it was too soon. The bond. The marriage. The casual way in which Legolas was talking of children. All of it was happening too fast for her.

"I didn't want it to be like this." He suddenly said, gesturing his arms up in the air. "I've dreamt about this night so many times, Lynwen, for so many years." He gave a sarcastic breathy laugh. "I can't even begin to tell you how many times over the years I'd thought that I might've actually died from the pain in my heart at how much I love you." He looked into her eyes with obvious pain shining in his as his shoulders slumped and his arms flopped to his sides, utterly crushed. He took a deep breath. "I know this is not how a bond or marriage of any sort should be formed, I recognise that. And I'm sorry that it was sprung on you like this. I appreciate that I've had time to adjust to this bond, whereas you haven't, and for that, I can't apologise enough. But, we're in love, Lynwen. We've been so close for eight years, and we're no strangers to each other. I know in my heart that I would have bonded myself to you at some point in the near future anyway, so can't we just be happy about this?" He pleaded.

Lynwen just looked down to the floor as she contemplated what was happening, causing Legolas to quickly stride over to her and grab her face in his hands. "Look at me." He demanded, his eyes frantically searching her face before she finally met his stare. "You are the most important person in my life, Lynwen, and your happiness is my utmost priority." His grip tightened on her face as his eyes bored into hers with an intensity that showed how petrified he was of losing her.

But Lynwen only stepped back from his hold, forcing his hands to remain suspended in mid-air as his expression stopped trying to hide the fear that he was feeling.

"I'm sorry, Legolas. I can't do this." She said, turning away from him and hurrying into her bathroom, swiftly locking the door behind her.

Legolas just stared at the closed door in shock. How had the most perfect evening turned into his worst nightmare in a matter of minutes? _'I can't do this'? _What had she meant by that? Was she ending it with him?

"Lynwen!" Legolas called out as he strode over to the bathroom door. "Lynwen please, let's talk about this!" He said through the closed door as he hopelessly wriggled the door knob in his attempt to open it.

But there was no response from the other side.

"Lynwen, please." Legolas splayed his hands on the wall as he leant his forehead against the door. With his elven hearing, he was able to take in the sounds of her laboured breathing and her frantically beating heart; a frantically beating heart that he was also able to feel within his own chest. Through their bond her fear, panic, anger and utter confusion was coursing through his own veins, making him feel completely helpless at that moment. All he wanted was to take her into his arms and show her that she had no reason to fear this bond, that he would never allow any harm or unhappiness to touch her again. But this blasted door was keeping him from her. Preventing him from making her see that all was now as it should be. That now was all as it should have always been. She should have _always _been with him!

He considered breaking the door down when she refused to answer him, but quickly realised that that would probably only fuel her unease of the whole situation.

He slid his hands down the wall until they flopped at his sides, staring at the closed door with hopelessness in his eyes. How had it come to this? Just minutes before, they had been making love like they were the only two people in the world; the only people who mattered in each other's lives. And now, it could all possibly be over?

No. Legolas wasn't going to allow that. He couldn't! He'd simply die if that was to happen, he was sure. But regardless, he knew deep down that giving Lynwen some time alone to adjust to this shock was the best thing at that moment. She just needed some time alone to take in this unexpected bond, assuring himself that she would be embracing their newfound marriage by morning. And then, he would convince her not to travel to Gondor.

But still wanting nothing more than to hold her in his arms at that moment and never let go, he had to force himself to turn away from the bathroom door and quietly exit her chambers, grabbing his tunic on his way out.

xxx

At sunrise, Lynwen was just finishing getting dressed after one of the worst night's sleep of her life. All she could think about was what had transpired with Legolas the night before, and at how they were now married! Bonded forever! It was all too much to try to take in. Especially when she was still secretly harbouring deep feelings for Elrohir.

She mentally kicked herself for allowing her brother to still have such a strong hold over her heart. Why couldn't she just stop loving him? It would certainly make everything a hell of a lot easier right now.

A knock sounded on her bedroom door just as she finished wrapping her thick woollen cloak around her shoulders. She looked to the closed door knowing that it was probably someone else who was going to try to convince her not to leave, which put her in a defensive mood immediately. There was no way that she was going to be talked out of this. She needed to get away from Rivendell as soon as possible, and desperately needed to be away from Elrohir if she was ever going to be able to stand a chance of getting over her love for him.

She walked across her room and took a deep breath as she braced herself for the inevitable confrontation. But her heart quite literally stopped for a second after she opened her door, only to find Elrohir standing there.

He was nervously shifting his feet on the ground as his hands remained rooted deep in his pockets, as if he was afraid what they might do if he allowed them out.

"Hey." Was all he could muster in a quiet voice, a small nervous smile on his face.

But Lynwen didn't reply, not really knowing what to say. She hadn't really spoken to Elrohir since that particular night when he had shunned her on the evening of the welcome party, a few months previous. It was clear that he had been avoiding her ever since, usually turning and walking in the opposite direction if he ever saw her approaching.

So seeing him standing here now was a great shock.

"Can I come in?" He asked, breaking the awkward silence between them.

After a moment of uncertainty Lynwen nodded as she stepped aside, allowing him to enter.

Elrohir slowly walked in, hesitantly making his way across the room. "It's been many years since I was last in here." He said nostalgically as he walked to the centre of her bedroom. "It hasn't changed a bit." He said as he looked around. "And you still have those lime green curtains, I see! I remember you picking those out!" He said with a slight chuckle.

Lynwen slowly and quietly closed her bedroom door and walked to where he was standing, still completely bewildered as to what he was doing here after months of shunning her. And his reminiscing of her room, like they were old buddies who had simply lost touch, was only adding to her confusion.

But frustratingly for her, his mere presence was having a traitorous effect on her heart, causing it to ache painfully as she still secretly longed for him. Just looking at his tall, lithe figure standing there, with his long jet-black hair hanging freely and cascading rather messily down his back, made her want to reach out and touch him. She missed their relationship so much, missed what they used to have together. They were unbreakable for so long. Even when she had been a child, their relationship was solid. Why did he have to go and ruin it!? Why did he have to destroy what they had had!? Damn him! And damn these bloody feelings of love and resentment, every time she was near him!

His stare had come to rest on the far side of her room, his body still and tense. He stared at that spot for a number of silent moments, seemingly getting lost in another time or place. "And I remember the day that we broke that mirror." He said with a small smile on his fair face, gesturing toward what was left of her vanity table. His smile wasn't hiding the pain that was evident in his grey eyes as he continued to gaze at the small rickety table. "I kept meaning to get that fixed for you..." He said, the small smile now faded to nothing but a grim and saddened expression upon his face. "...But, I just couldn't bring myself to come back in here again after I came back from the north." He abruptly broke his stare on the far side of the room and looked down to the floor.

Lynwen knew she shouldn't be encouraging this conversation to progress any further, but she just couldn't help herself. "Why?" She asked in a small voice.

Elrohir looked up from the floor and gazed into her eyes with so much grief and torment displayed in his own. "Because it would have been too painful, Lynwen."

They gazed at each other for a number of moments, both of them desperate to say so many things to each other, but with neither one of them quite having the confidence to do so. The tension in the room could be felt like bolts of electricity firing through the air, making their heart rates increase and for the hairs on their arms to stand on end. The connection between them was still as strong as ever, pulling at their very souls in its desperate attempt to reunite them physically and emotionally.

"Why would it have been too painful?" Lynwen asked barely above a whisper.

Elrohir's shoulders slumped slightly as he exhaled long and slow. "Because I was trying to move on from you, Lynwen." He run a hand through his rather tangled hair, revealing his face much more clearly, and in doing so, displayed the dark circles under his eyes and the greying of his sallow-looking skin. He looked ill. Weak. Defeated. "The love that I felt for you... that I _still _feel for you... scared the hell out of me. The pain I experienced when Raina, and then my mother, left, was truly unbearable, and I... I was petrified of getting hurt again." He looked into her eyes, his own seemingly begging for her to understand. "I was a coward, Lynwen. And I panicked. And I've never been sorrier. Not only for the hurt that I know I caused you, but also because I fear that you may now never want to come back to me."

Lynwen was speechless. All she could do was to stare back at him, fighting back the emotional tears that were stinging the back of her eyes. By the Valar, how she loved him so much. How she craved for his familiar touch, and the safety and belonging she had always felt when she had been in his arms. How she longed for those deep grey eyes to gaze at her with their usual mischief and utter devotion he had always shown towards her in the past.

But now, those same grey eyes only ever looked at her with pain, regret, and sadness. And it was something that disturbed and upset her, greatly. He was a mixed-up guy who had deep-rooted issues that he had been struggling to contend with for hundreds of years. She knew deep in her heart that his love for her was as real as the despair that was now in his eyes, and wished more than anything that she could stay to repair their shattered relationship; the very relationship that had made her see at just how much it were possible to truly and deeply love someone.

But she had Legolas to think about now. She was also deeply in love with the blond prince, and knew, despite her unhappiness at their surprise bond, that she needed to try to make things work between them. And she had to be away from Elrohir in order for that to happen, hoping that her strong feelings for the black-haired lord would eventually dissipate over time.

Elrohir sighed in defeat as his shoulders slumped slightly, clearly distraught at Lynwen's silence. He continued to stare at her, finding himself unable to bring his gaze away from her face. She had changed so much, he thought to himself. Gone was that young, carefree eighteen year old whom he had fallen madly in love with all those years ago. Now, she was a woman who not only had changed in appearance, but in personality, too. She wasn't really carefree anymore, seeming much more introvert and cautious, instead. Her looks were cold and harsh, and her stance was always positioned like she was prepared for a fight at any moment. He knew how much of a hostile environment Mirkwood was to reside in, with its residents simply surviving as apposed to living. And the thought that the woman he would happily die for had suffered for eight years there, turning her into this detached and emotionally distant warrior standing in front of him, completely destroyed him. He had failed her. He had failed to protect the most important person who had ever entered his long life. And he would suffer that guilt for the rest of eternity - if he didn't fade from his slowly-breaking heart beforehand.

But now he had a chance to make some amends. Now he had a chance to protect her like he knew he should have all those years ago.

"Lynwen, I don't want you to leave."

Lynwen immediately opened her mouth to protest, but was silenced by Elrohir walking up to her and coming to a standstill directly in front of her. His tall lithe frame towered over her as he stared into her eyes with some sort of determination, his jaw set and clenching slightly.

"Lynwen, it's not safe out there. You haven't seen what's lurking throughout Middle Earth, willing to wipe out anything, or anyone, that stands in its way. You could be killed!" He said in a slightly broken voice, his eyes now only showing his fear for her safety. He looked down to the floor for a few moments. "I know that you are only leaving Imladris to be away from me." He said slowly, his brow furrowed as if the words were paining him. "Please..." He looked up and met her stare again. "Allow me to go in your stead, Lynwen. You stay here, where I know you will be safe, and _I _will leave." He offered desperately.

Lynwen just stared back at him as she tried to work out how she wanted to respond. She suddenly felt unsure of her plans. Of _herself_, even! Elrohir was confusing her, clouding her better judgment like he always did, and always had. His presence, alone, was making her question her plans to leave. And his current close proximity to her was putting her emotions into turmoil. How could she admit to him that she didn't _want _to leave him, but that she _needed _to? How could she admit to him that she still loved him desperately, but that she was also deeply in love with his good friend? She had been so sure of herself right up until Elrohir showed up a few minutes ago, knowing that her lack of any sort of interaction with him over the past few months had helped her to stay, somewhat, focused on Legolas.

But now he was unknowingly disrupting her focus, sending her feelings into a frenzy. She just _had _to be away from him, and from any reminders of him!

"No, Ro. I have to leave. I need to be away from this place..."

"Then I'll escort you." He interrupted firmly.

But Lynwen only shook her head as she helplessly locked onto his grey eyes. "No, I... I need to do this alone." Her eyes started to betray her harsh facade as they began to water slightly. "Please, just... let me go." She pleaded in a hoarse whisper.

But Elrohir's expression didn't change from its determined glare. "I won't give up on us, Lynwen." He said. "I can't give up on us. You're my life, my only reason for living and breathing, and I won't give up until we're back together. As we should be." He gazed into her eyes with a confidence that she hadn't seen in him for months. "I'll give you more space if that's what you need." He took a deep breath before sighing deeply and slowly. "And, reluctantly, I'll allow you to leave Imladris." He said hesitantly. "But then I will come and find you, Lynwen. And I will continue to fight for us." He took a hold of her hand and tentatively stroked her fingers with his thumb. "We're meant for each other, Little One, I know that for a fact. And I know that you know it, too."

Lynwen remained speechless, not knowing what to say to that. Everything he had just said felt so right, but she had to remain strong. She loved Legolas so much as well, and wanted to make their relationship work. She had to leave Rivendell, and leave Elrohir if she wanted her relationship with the blond prince to prevail and prosper.

She reluctantly pulled her hand away from Elrohir's comforting hold and took a deep breath, hoping it would give her the courage she needed to end this once and for all.

"Ro, I... I'm sorry but... I don't want to see you again." She lied, hoping her quivering voice wasn't revealing her true feelings. "Please, just let it go." She tried to muster all of her inner strength to firmly hold his gaze. "Just let _me _go." She said with a false confidence as she felt her heart break all over again.

But Elrohir didn't flinch. He continued to stare into her eyes, his own boring right into her soul, studying her, deciphering her, simply reading her like he would a novel. "I'll give you your space." He eventually said, calmly repeating his words from a number of moments ago. "And then I will come and find you, and we will be together again." He stated plainly, as if he hadn't heard a word she had just said to him.

Then before she could say anything else, he leant down and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, his lips lingering there for a few seconds before he slowly pulled back. "Make haste out there, Little One, and keep to the shadows. Remain hidden, and trust no-one." His eyes were back to displaying only fear and worry as they frantically scanned her face. He then rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes, his hands coming up and cupping Lynwen's face as he took a moment to deeply inhale everything about her. This was going to be one of the hardest things he was ever going to have to do; letting her go out there, knowing what dangers were lurking. But he held onto the knowledge that she just needed space not only from him, but from Rivendell, too, and that afterwards, they would finally be together again.

He pulled back from their physical contact and, without opening his eyes, he swiftly walked past her and exited her room, not trusting himself to let her leave if he was to look at her again.

xxx

Legolas hesitantly approached Lynwen's chambers, feeling incredibly nervous. This was the first time he would be seeing her after he had left her chambers the night before, and he silently prayed that she had since come to terms with the surprise development of their bond. He desperately needed her to be ok with this marriage, to want to embrace it and persevere with it, otherwise there was no telling what tragic outcome lie ahead for him.

As he entered her room, he was a little perplexed by finding her sat on the edge of her bed and staring down at the floor.

"Is everything alright?" He immediately asked, startling her slightly.

Lynwen looked up, unable to hide the unsettled emotions that were written all over her troubled face. "Yes, fine." Was all she said, as she attempted to force on a smile.

Legolas walked over to her and knelt on the floor at her feet, placing his hands on her thighs. "Lynwen, I can see you're nervous, and that's absolutely fine!" He quickly added in a soft voice, hoping his next words wouldn't cause a whole new row to develop between them. "You don't have to go if you don't want to." He said, secretly hoping that she would choose to stay.

But Lynwen shook her head rather vigourously. "No I have to go." She stated bluntly. "I can't stay here."

He gently rubbed the palms of his hands up and down her thighs in his attempt to sooth her seemingly frantic mood. "I know this is about last night." He slowly said, causing Lynwen to look up at him. "But please believe me, Lynwen, when I say that it was an accident. I honestly didn't mean to allow myself to bond to you..."

"I know you didn't, Legolas." Lynwen interrupted his plea in a plain and even tone. "I believe you, but that doesn't stop me from being any less shocked by it." Her shoulders slumped as she let out a deep sigh, finding herself looking down at the floor again. "And it's not just last night that I'm thinking about." She said absently, as she stared into nothingness. "Elrohir stopped by here around twenty minutes ago."

Legolas' upper body jerked into an upright, frozen stance. "Elrohir was here?" He asked coldly.

Lynwen only nodded as she continued to stare at the floor.

"You mean, Elrohir was here? In your _bedroom_?" Legolas' emphasis on the word 'bedroom' was dripping in poison, as the rest of that sentence had seethed through his gritted teeth at an alarmingly slow, and vicious-sounding tone, causing Lynwen to look up at him in surprise.

"Yes, he came to see me." She said a little defensively. "Why?"

Legolas' jaw clenched tight and his eyes darkened as they bored right into her, showing a dangerous side to the blond prince that was emerging rapidly. And his frightening eyes were penetrating her in a way that dared her to defy him. "Your ex-boyfriend was in your bedroom, and you think that's acceptable?" His voice was still taking on a quiet and calm tone that was extremely unnerving, as it was abundantly clear that he was utterly furious, the rage literally shimmering in his murderous glare.

But when Lynwen didn't answer and only defiantly stared right back at him, something in Legolas seemed to suddenly snap like some sort of realisation, causing him to instantly stand up from the ground. He turned away from her and glided the palms of his hands over the top of his head as he looked up to the ceiling, seemingly trying to calm his anger. And after a few moments of this, his voice then took on a more steady nature. "The men of Gondor are ready. You shouldn't keep them waiting." He simply said.

Lynwen stared at his back in stunned silence. What had just happened? She'd never experienced Legolas act like that towards her before. His domineering and threatening behaviour was alien to her, and she could only wonder as to where it had come from.

"I will wait for you outside." Legolas then said over his shoulder, before walking out of her room and closing the door behind him.

Once outside, he leant back against the wall and shut his eyes as he tried to steady his erratic breathing. What he had just experienced in there had been a dangerous and hideous surge of jealously and rage that he had barely been able to contain. A jealously that had ignited every fibre of his being into an immense amount of anger and fury that had made him want to violently lash out. And with that jealously had come an uncontrollable feeling of supremacy, making him feel highly protective of his wife in a way that far surpassed the care and compassion that a normal husband would feel for their spouse. No, it was more like domination that he had just experienced. Like Lynwen was his property. A wife that he expected obedience from.

Legolas dragged the palms of his hands down his face as he tried to re-bury these unfamiliar and, quite frankly, unnerving feelings that had intensified since their bond had finally solidified and completed last night. His last-ditch plan to try to convince Lynwen to remain in Rivendell, had gone out of the window when his jealously had engulfed him like that, turning him into someone that he didn't recognise. He wondered if it was simply the stresses he was feeling at him accompanying the Fellowship in a few days time, combined with his dire need to remain at Lynwen's side, that had caused him to react like that. And the fact that he suspected she was still battling her feelings for Elrohir, was making it increasingly difficult for him to remain trusting of her.

Thinking about it, it was probably for the best if Lynwen did leave Rivendell, for he wasn't sure whether he would be too happy about leaving his wife here unaccompanied, with Elrohir hovering by. Legolas knew that he wouldn't be able to focus on the quest to Mordor if Lynwen and Elrohir were left unattended here, where he wouldn't be able to keep a close eye on them.

He slid down the wall in the open-air corridor and slumped on the ground outside Lynwen's room as he raked a hand through his hair. This bond seemed to be turning him into a frenzied, paranoid, and untrusting nut-job, which made him sigh deeply in frustration. He didn't want to feel like this, but he just couldn't help it because since the night before, he had developed an overwhelming sense of possessiveness over Lynwen, the fact that she was now his wife, making him much more protective of her than usual. Over-protective, even.

But knowing Lynwen's independent and fiery temperament like he did, he knew that he had to try and hit these controlling urges of his on the head if he wanted Lynwen to remain with him.

xxx

"Muinthel (sister), you don't have to do this. We're your family and you belong with us." Elladan's plea at the grand stone archway that symbolised the main gateway in and out of Rivendell, fell on deaf ears.

"I do have to do this, Elladan." Lynwen said, her gaze landing on Elrond who was stood a few yards away. "I don't belong here, anymore."

"That's not true!" He implored, his hands placed on the sides of her head. "Please, Lynwen. It's not safe out there."

Lynwen took a hold of Elladan's hands and gently pulled them away from her head. "I'm sorry, Elladan. But you're not going to change my mind." She said, still holding his hands in hers. "I have to go. You know I do."

Elladan looked down to their hands, his brow was furrowed and his expression was showing the confliction he was feeling. "But... I don't want you to go." He lifted his head and looked at her with pained eyes. "You're my little sister, Lynwen. And I want you to remain safe."

Lynwen couldn't help but to smile. She loved Elladan and Arwen so damn much, and even though leaving them was hurting her greatly, she at least knew that she would always have a brother and a sister when it came to those two.

"And I _will _be safe, Elladan. I'm travelling with some of the best warriors that Gondor has to offer." She reassured him. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

Elladan continued to look at her perplexed. He was torn between making her stay, or letting her do what would make her happy. But would running away from her problems really make her happy? Would moving to a big, bustling, loud city on her own, be the answer to her problems? He doubted it. But unless he tied her up and locked her away in her chambers, there was no way he could make her stay.

"Ok." He finally said. "I understand you feel that you need to do this, and that's fine, I get that. And I'll give you only a year to spread your wings, but then I'm coming to find you." He said firmly. "And if I see that you're not happy, then I'm bringing you back home."

Lynwen smiled again, finding his protective-older-brother persona rather funny. "Ok, that sounds fair." She agreed.

Legolas appeared beside them. "They're ready, Lynwen."

Both Elladan and Lynwen looked over at the three Gondorians who had gathered, and were patiently waiting.

"I'll just go and check if they need anything else for the journey." Elladan said, before walking away.

Lynwen looked up at Legolas to find that he was staring at her with concern. "You know it's not too late to change your mind..."

But Lynwen cut him off by holding up her hand. "Please Legolas, I can't do this now. I can't have this conversation again."

Legolas simply nodded in understanding, although his expression looked anything, but.

Lynwen took a hold of his hand in an attempt to ease the rapidly growing tension between them. "I love you so much." She implored in a quiet voice, not wanting anyone else to hear their exchange. "Come and find me when you're done with this quest. I'll be waiting for you, Legolas..." She gave his hand a little squeeze, and sent him a small loving smile. "...Herven nin (My husband)."

Legolas' eyes widened at her last words. He stared at her in disbelief for a couple of seconds before his face broke out into the widest smile that Lynwen had ever seen, causing her to smile just as widely. She had finally embraced their bond? She was now happy to refer to him as her husband?

He stepped forward, closing the gap between them and embraced her in a huge tight hug, his long muscular arms wrapping around her petite frame and crushing her to his chest. He closed his eyes as he inhaled the sweet smell of her hair, engraving the softness of it against his fingers, deep into his memory. "Herves nin. (My wife)." He muttered as he sighed long and hard, moving his face over the top of her head and gently brushing his lips against her hair. "Oh, herves bain nin (My beautiful wife)." He whispered, his grip on her tightening. "Gi melin, Lynwen. Gi melin (I love you)." His voice was cracking as he tried to keep his emotions in check. He pulled back slightly from their embrace so that he could look upon her face, the backs of fingers now gently stroking her cheek. They just stared into each others' eyes, silently communicating to each other all their love, longing, concern, and pain at being separated, while their eyes glazed over from unshed tears.

The pain that was shooting through Legolas' chest was almost unbearable as he looked upon his new bride. He had to fight hard and suppress all his natural instincts as a bonded husband to cling onto her and never let her leave his side.

The hand that was softly stroking her cheek, moved back and glided through her hair to cup the back of her head. And instinctively, Legolas made to lean forward with the intention to kiss his wife. But Lynwen put a stop to this endearment immediately, by quickly stepping back out of Legolas' hold and forcing his hands to drop at his sides.

She nervously looked around them at the few people who were standing close by, before looking back at Legolas with a look that said _'what the hell were you thinking!?'. _And it was a look that hit Legolas like a hard punch to the stomach, seemingly solidifying and confirming what their marriage was to her; a dirty little secret that needed to be kept hidden at all costs.

He simply looked down to the ground with a sigh as he subtly nodded his head, confirming he understood Lynwen's silent message loud and clear.

And with one last goodbye that was addressed to not only himself, but to Elladan, Arwen and Aragorn, too, Lynwen was gone, her small figure disappearing through the stone archway as she followed after the three Gondorians, throwing one last, pained look over her shoulder, which, this time, was directed only at Legolas.


	30. Battle on the Westfold

_**A huge thank you to all the Guest reviewers. Your kind and encouraging words are truly unbelievable! And a huge thanks to 'Michelle' and 'Tess' for reviewing again! It's amazing to think that there are people out there who are not only taking the time to read my story, but are actually enjoying it too! Really guys, all your positive words and support mean the world to me, so thank you!**_

_**Ok, this chapter contains strong language and violence.**_

Chapter 30 - Battle on the Westfold

Legolas was sat on a grass bank that bordered a small stream, staring at nothingness as he got lost in his thoughts. All that could be heard was the soothing sound of the water as it gently trickled over small stones towards the main river of Rivendell, allowing him to dwell on his unsettling departure from his wife a number of hours earlier.

He leant forward and placed his head in his hands. Lynwen was out there now, in the wilds of Middle Earth, fully exposed to the dangers that were lurking throughout the lands. He berated himself for the millionth time for not forcing her to remain here. But maybe space from each other, and from Rivendell, was what they needed. It was obvious that she was still struggling with her feelings about their relationship, about her family, about Elrohir, and just about her life in general. He recognised that she had been through so much heartache in her young life, so much betrayal from the people whom she had trusted the most. And he sensed through their bond a constant reluctance from her, to get too close to him. And it was a reluctance that was constantly shrouded in fear. Fear that she could possibly get hurt if she was to so willingly open up her heart to someone again. He always knew that gaining Lynwen's trust, and convincing her that he would never hurt her, was going to be difficult. Especially after the ellon whom she had always known as her father, had so cruelly abandoned her, and the brother whom she had so willingly handed her heart to, had hurt her beyond imaginable.

And so, his careful and considerate approach towards the progression of their own relationship, had all gone wrong when he had suddenly sprung the creation of their bond on her. She had had no warning, and he realised now that springing it on her like that, was a foolish mistake. Now she was scared. And that fear-shrouded reluctance from her that he had only just begun to feel dissipate as she had started to trust in him day by day, could now be felt through their bond tenfold, this morning. Just when she was beginning to open up to him, he went and screwed it all up, causing her to re-build the walls around herself again, that he had been working so hard at to gently chip away.

He sighed heavily as he berated himself for being such an idiot. Why did he have to go and tell her about the bond? Why couldn't he have just waited?! He raked a hand through his unbound hair in frustration, wishing he could undo the last twelve hours. But there was nothing he could do now. All he could do was to give her the time and space that he sensed she needed, to try to sort through her mangled emotions. And then, in a couple of months, when this quest would be over, he would go and find her in Gondor where he hoped she would then be ready to publicly embrace their marriage.

"You look how I feel."

Legolas was startled by Elrohir's sudden appearance, and looked up to see the black-haired lord sitting himself down on the grass bank beside him. Legolas was also a little taken aback by Elrohir's dishevelled appearance, finding himself unable to ignore the dull colour of the youngest twin's skin and the lifelessness of his eyes. Was he fading? It certainly looked like it. But despite the dimness of the twin's expression, Legolas was still able to see a familiar fighting strength, determinedly protruding from Elrohir's darkened eyes, like he was prepared for a fight of some sort. And although it was a look that Legolas often associated with the Rivendell twin, he couldn't help but suspect that this time, it was Lynwen that was influencing this fighting spirit within Elrohir.

Legolas smiled politely at Elrohir's comment and turned his head back to continue looking at the gentle trickle of the stream.

"I love this place." Elrohir said as he bent one of his legs, resting his forearm on his knee. "I've been pretty much everywhere during my life, but nowhere compares to the tranquillity and peace that I feel here in Imladris."

But as Legolas turned his head to look at him, he decided that Elrohir looked anything, but. His furrowed brow and the aggression in his eyes told Legolas that Elrohir was feeling anything but peace and tranquillity. And being in Elrohir's company was making Legolas feel really unsettled. All he could think about was how he had made love to, and bonded with Lynwen the night before, making him feel an overwhelming sense of betrayal. Although Elrohir and Lynwen weren't officially together anymore, their relationship was still very much raw and fresh in their minds, making Legolas feel like he had betrayed his good friend in the worst way possible. It was an unspoken rule that no-one should ever get involved with a friend's girl, ex or not! Social standards amongst their race expected you to respect that rule, and it was a rule that Legolas one hundred percent agreed with.

But that hadn't stopped him from claiming Lynwen as his own the night before, shamefully turning his back on the social standards that he had always adhered to, and had always completely respected. And at the moment, the only way that Legolas could deal with his guilt was to convince himself that Elrohir simply didn't deserve Lynwen. He had had his chance with her, and he had fucked it up. So Legolas kept telling himself that it wasn't just he who was disrespecting social etiquette by bonding himself to his friend's ex, but that Elrohir had also abandoned common social standards by betraying Lynwen.

But despite these thoughts, Legolas still couldn't alleviate his guilt. He had disrespected Elrohir's trust, his good friend of hundreds of years, by claiming Lynwen for himself. And he had even claimed Lynwen for himself, knowing that the Rivendell twin was still deeply in love with her, and was now even possibly fading because of his deep feelings for the woman that, thanks to Legolas, could quite probably never be his again.

"You and Lynwen are quite close."

Legolas' stomach lurched at Elrohir's cool words. He turned his head to see that Elrohir had his head tilted up to the sky.

"Yeah, I suppose." Legolas hesitantly replied.

Elrohir brought his head back down and turned to face Legolas. He simply stared at the blond prince for a number of silent seconds with an unreadable expression on his face. "Has she... spoken of me?" It was Elrohir's turn to sound hesitant now.

Legolas was instantly relieved to hear the tenderness in Elrohir's voice and to see the fragility of his soul, shining through his eyes. He clearly didn't suspect anything, and was simply asking whom he thought was a close friend of Lynwen, for some information that may give the twin some hope.

But even though Legolas felt relief that Elrohir clearly hadn't discovered his and Lynwen's secret marriage, he also felt a surging of dominance raging through his veins. Despite his guilt at the fact that he had broken the most valued rule of any friendship, Lynwen was still his wife, and his instinct as a husband was causing him to feel defensive towards Elrohir's interest in his woman. All Legolas could do at that moment was to stare back at Elrohir, fighting an internal battle between being a good friend and a devoted husband. But it was his deep love and strong bond with Lynwen that was winning the internal battle, forcing him to take some slow deep breaths to try to calm the urge to physically force Elrohir to back off from his wife.

"Um, a little." Legolas said in a low voice, not really wanting to get into a conversation about this.

But Elrohir clearly wasn't done, as he took a deep steadying breath to ready himself. "And what does she say?"

Legolas looked back at his friend, almost feeling sympathy for the way he looked at that moment. The infamous and mighty Elrohir was a broken man. Not only was it obvious, physically, that he was fading, but his grey eyes were dull and void of any life and joy, displaying only an utter sadness and longing for the woman he loved.

But Legolas quickly righted himself, remembering the eight years that Lynwen had wasted waiting for Elrohir in Mirkwood, only to discover him in bed with someone else. Lynwen's, already, fragile heart quite literally broke after that, with her trust in others disappearing along with her ability to love again. It was because of Elrohir's betrayal, that Lynwen was reluctant to let Legolas get too close to her, or even to allow herself to get too close to him. She'd been hurt by her father and brother, and obviously didn't think she would be strong enough to go through that again. So keeping Legolas at arms length was her way of protecting herself from getting hurt. And it was because of Elrohir that Legolas now had a big battle on his hands to persuade Lynwen to trust that he would never hurt her like Elrond and Elrohir had. And it was a battle that he wasn't entirely sure at this moment in time, if he would ever win.

Legolas sighed as he looked down at the ground. "She used to speak of you a lot during her time in Mirkwood. At that time she still believed that you were going to come and rescue her." He looked back up at Elrohir and watched the Rivendell lord gulp down his emotions as his eyes began to water. He slowly nodded his head in understanding as he looked down to the ground. "And has she spoken of me since arriving back in Imladris?" He lifted his head back up and allowed his hopeful gaze to land back on Legolas.

But Legolas could only look back at him with a cool stare. "Since she found you in bed with someone else, you mean?"

Thanks to thousands of years of confrontation, Elrohir's body didn't flinch, but his eyes couldn't prevent from startling for a split second at Legolas' forward and aggressive statement. He'd never experienced Legolas' wrath before, always having shared a good friendship with the Mirkwood prince, with them always having gotten on extremely well. But he knew that Legolas had every right to feel angry. Not only had Elrohir betrayed the love of his own life, - an act that Legolas had always found unforgivable in the years that he'd known him - but the woman he'd hurt was also a close friend of the prince, making this a double strike against the Rivendell twin.

"I'm sorry, Elrohir." Legolas said through a deep sigh as he dragged the palm of his hand over the top of his head.

Elrohir wasn't surprised to hear Legolas apologise, knowing that the prince never was one for confrontation. But even so, Elrohir knew that he fully deserved the prince's anger. "You don't need to apologise, Legolas. You're absolutely right to be angry." He said, causing the prince to look back at him again. "I know what I did to Lynwen was unforgivable, and I hate myself for putting her through all that anguish. She didn't deserve any of it." Elrohir's voice croaked ever so slightly from his emotions, surprising Legolas as to how open, emotionally, the Rivendell lord was being; a trait he had never witnessed from the twin until now.

"Damn it, Legolas, she never deserved it!" Elrohir dragged the palm of his hand down his face as he breathed fast and deep a number of times. "She's the best fucking thing to have ever happened to me, and I went and fucked it all up!" He paused for a few seconds as he got his breathing under control, his eyes glazed as he looked at the stream ahead. "And even after all the shit I've put her through, I'm still hoping that she'll forgive me and take me back!" Elrohir gave a small sarcastic laugh at his last revelation as he shook his head, seemingly admitting to himself at how far-fetched his hope at his and Lynwen's relationship rekindling, was. "I wouldn't blame her one bit if she decided to turn her back on me once and for all. Hell, I deserve it, right?"

Legolas wasn't sure if Elrohir was expecting an answer, but chose to remain silent, and instead, quietly looked on as his good friend's persona rapidly crumbled before his eyes.

"Fuck, Legolas, what am I going to do?" Elrohir asked in a panicked tone as he lethargically rested his forearms on top of his bent knees. "I can't live without her. She's everything to me, and I love her so bloody much!"

Legolas remained silent, completely shocked by the way Elrohir was being very open about his feelings of love for Lynwen, seemingly not giving a shit about keeping his pride in check. This wasn't the Elrohir Legolas had known for hundreds of years, and it was alarming to see him acting like this. The Elrohir that Legolas had always known was confident, cocky, boisterous, and certainly not someone who seemed to be in touch with his emotions. Well, not openly anyway.

Elrohir looked at Legolas with desperation in his eyes. "Mellon, I know you and Lynwen are very close, so I was wondering if you will speak with her for me?" Elrohir quickly began speaking again when he saw the instant reluctance in Legolas' persona. "Please, Legolas. I think that she will listen to you. And I'm sure that you will probably see her before I do, so please, just tell her how fucking sorry I am. I know we're meant to be together, I feel it in my heart." Elrohir brought his hand up to his chest to emphasise his statement. "I need her, Legolas. I need her more than anything. Please, talk with her for me."

Legolas gulped hard at Elrohir's emotional outburst. Finding himself torn again between devoted husband and loyal friend, he could only remain silent for a number of long moments. But seeing the despair and utter desperation in his friend's eyes, only reminded him of the unforgivable way in which he had claimed Lynwen for himself the night before, firmly breaking the most important rule of any friendship. Although he felt Elrohir didn't deserve Lynwen, he had still crossed a very dangerous boundary that no self-respecting being should ever cross, and had taken his friend's ex for himself, even knowing how deeply Elrohir still felt for her. And this made Legolas hate himself. This betrayal to his and Elrohir's friendship put him on par with all the dirty scumbag ellyn that Legolas had always detested in his life, and this thought made his gut wrench.

But there was nothing he could do about it now. He and Lynwen were bound, and he couldn't deny the complete and utter happiness it brought him knowing that Lynwen was now his wife. Elrohir wasn't the only one who needed her in his life; Legolas needed her too. And although he wanted to shout his newfound marriage from the rooftops, sitting here now in front of an emotionally-broken Elrohir made him heed Lynwen's request of keeping their bond a secret, for now. He realised at that moment that outing their bond now, would only strike disaster, so keeping it a secret was, unfortunately, necessary.

Legolas sighed long and hard as he considered Elrohir's request. "I don't know, Elrohir..."

"Please, Legolas!"

The desolate and desperate way in which Elrohir was looking at him, tore at his heart and increased the feeling of guilt in his gut. What was he to do? How could he escape this conversation without arising suspicion?

Legolas slowly, and reluctantly, nodded his head. "Ok, Elrohir, I'll talk to her."

Elrohir broke out into a relieved smile, his tired expression showing how grateful he was. "Hannon le, mellon. (Thank you, friend.)"

But Legolas felt anything but gratified by Elrohir's thankfulness. Legolas had no intention of trying to convince Lynwen to go back to Elrohir; and would probably never even bother to relay this particular conversation to her, or to anyone else for that matter. And so, his lie only added another painful twinge to his rapidly increasing guilt.

After taking a deep refreshing breath, Elrohir stood up from his position on the grass and, before walking away, rested his hand upon Legolas' shoulder. "You're a good friend, Legolas. And a good ellon. You always have been. And I've always been able to trust in you, so for that alone, I thank you." Elrohir gently squeezed his friend's shoulder, while giving him a small sincere smile, before turning and walking away.

Legolas could only sit and watch the Rivendell twin's retreating back, knowing that he had just purposely filled his friend's soul with false hope. He'd not only taken the love of Elrohir's life right from under his nose, but he had just given Elrohir a misleading sense of optimism that could potentially be the final break in his Rivendell friend's heart when the truth was to finally come out about Legolas and Lynwen. And Legolas suddenly dreaded that inevitable day, honestly not knowing how the infamously dangerous and unruly characteristics of the youngest twin, would react when he would eventually discover that Legolas and Lynwen were together.

xxx

March 1st, 3019 of the Third Age

The Westfold, Rohan.

Lynwen kept up a rapid pace with the three Gondorians that she had been travelling with for over two months now. The first month of their journey had been absolute hell for her, what with her never having to have journeyed so far and as rapidly, before. She had struggled to keep up with the long powerful strides of the men at first, developing painful blisters on her feet in her determination to not make a fuss of any sort. She knew from the beginning that this wasn't going to be an easy journey, but had promised herself that she would not hinder the men in any way with her pathetic complaints of chafed, sore skin, and excruciatingly aching muscles. And worst of all was having to endure all women's most favourite 'time of the month' whilst travelling and camping out in the wilderness with a group of men; something that Lynwen never wanted to repeat again!

But on the up side, she could feel that she had lost a fair bit of weight and knew that her body was much more toned than it had been before this journey began. Although Elrohir, and more recently Legolas, had both assured her that her curves were sexy, growing up in Rivendell and Mirkwood had made her very self-conscious of her 'human' body. She couldn't help it, but she had always felt fat, short, and stumpy next to all the ellith, and so feeling the looseness of her clothes now, gave her a bit of confidence.

"We'll rest here for lunch."

Although Lynwen had improved her fitness a great deal over the past two months, the announcement that they were going to rest up was always music to her ears.

She slid off the backpack from her shoulders and let it drop to the ground before she heavily slumped her backside down on top of it, eagerly stretching out her legs in front of her.

"Here, have some bread and loin."

Lynwen happily accepted the meal from the youngest of her travelling companions, Baranor, whom had also become somewhat of a friend during their time together. At just twenty-nine years old, he was only three years older than Lynwen, and had lived in Minas Tirith all of his life.

"Thank you, Baranor." Lynwen took a bite out of the wild boar meat that the men had hunted and cooked last night.

"Enjoy that while you can. Wild boar is a luxury whilst travelling. When that runs out we'll be back to rations and a bit of rabbit if we're lucky." Baranor said.

"How much longer until we reach Minas Tirith?"

Baranor looked out ahead, seemingly calculating the distance remaining, in his head. "I'd say just another couple of weeks, maybe less if we power through this last leg."

Lynwen nodded her head and continued to eat her small meal.

"So what are you planning to do once you reach Minas Tirith? You mentioned before that you don't know anyone there, so where will you stay?"

Lynwen sighed as she swallowed her food. What was she going to do? She'd been so focused on getting away from everything and everyone in her life, that she hadn't really planned what she was going to do upon arriving in Minas Tirith.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Well, my brother Elladan gave me some money, enough to pay for accommodation for the first week or so, and I'll focus on getting a job straight away. I can sew and mend, cook and bake, read and write, so I'm hoping that that will open up a number of job possibilities for me."

"Aye, those skills will." Baranor agreed. "There's plenty of cafes and restaurants that would require cooks, and even waitresses."

"I could even work behind a bar. I'm sure I could pull a pint well enough." Lynwen laughed.

But Baranor kept a straight face as he looked at her. "Promise me that you won't get a job as a barmaid." He said seriously. "A pretty thing like you would be eaten alive by the Gondorian men after hours."

But Lynwen just smiled at him. "I think I can handle myself."

Baranor opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by one of the other men summoning him, looking rather frantic as he did so.

"Excuse me, Lynwen." Baranor left her side and quickly joined the two men a few yards away.

Lynwen sat there and watched them muttering to each other in hushed tones, their eyes darting all around them. She didn't like the look of this. They looked frightened and panicked, and were making it obvious that something was up. So far, the four of them hadn't run into any trouble on their journey from Rivendell, and had even passed through the Gap of Rohan a few days previous without hindrance. But with them still being so close to the surrounding lands of Isengard and the terror that the White Wizard, Saruman, was unleashing upon those areas, they had had to remain alert and hidden amongst the shadows as much as possible.

Lynwen glanced down to Meldiron's twin blades that were attached to her hips, nervously grazing the handles with her fingertips as she lifted her head and eyed the three men again.

"Lynwen." Baranor called out as he made his way back over to her. "We have to leave."

"Why, what's happening?"

"There's no time to explain, just pick up your pack..."

But Baranor was cut off by the distinctive sound of an arrow whistling by at high speed before planting itself in the ground in-between himself and Lynwen.

"Run!" He shouted at her, causing Lynwen to startle and freeze as she stupidly looked from him to the black arrow embedded beside her foot.

But Baranor roughly grabbing a hold of her upper arm awoke her from her daze, as he pulled her along, forcing her to run with him and the others.

But they all stopped abruptly by the sight that they were suddenly met with. Orcs. Ten of them, standing about thirty metres ahead. All armed with torturous-looking weapons, whilst grinning sickening smiles that made Lynwen's skin crawl, instantly taking her back eight and half years to the depths of Mirkwood Forest, to the most terrifying encounter of her life.

"Lynwen," Baranor spoke quietly whilst never taking his eyes off the orcs, ahead. "Run to those hills behind us. Keep south-west until you come to the foot of the mountains. Then head south-east until you reach Minas Tirith. The mountains should provide you with enough cover to remain hidden."

Lynwen turned her gaze toward him, shocked. "What? I'm not leaving you!"

"You must." Baranor spoke assertively, whilst keeping his voice level. "If you keep up a fast pace, you should reach Minas Tirith in a matter of weeks."

At that, the orcs began to charge at them, causing the men to begin at a run towards the mutilated foe while brandishing their weapons, accepting the orcs' challenge. But Lynwen only seized up in fright and froze to the spot like a complete and utter moron. _Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck. _Lynwen kept repeating the vulgar phrase under her breath as she mentally tried to get herself together. No way was she going to run away. She wasn't a coward! She'd gotten to know these men so well over the last couple of months, and she'd be damned if she was just going to leave them to fight this battle alone. And she suspected that it was going to be a very short battle, what with them being so outnumbered. But either way, she'd trained so hard with Meldiron and Legolas during her eight years in Mirkwood, that she wasn't going to waste all that time and effort by just slinking away to the mountains.

Lynwen drew her twin blades from her hips, taking one last deep breath to try to calm her frantic nerves before she too, charged at the small battle that was now taking place up ahead.

She could see that there were already a few orcs dead on the ground, while the men took out another couple of them. Seeing the Gondorian men fighting so skilfully with their swords, swiftly slitting throats and stabbing at torsos, made Lynwen pause for a split second in admiration. Travelling without trouble for the past couple of months made her forget that these men were highly skilled and hardened warriors, and watching them fight now, was mesmerising. But she quickly regained her focus and ran up to an orc that was just about to bring down his weapon upon Baranor's head, sticking one of her blades deep into the orc's side before bringing up her second knife to his throat and slitting it quickly before the orc had a chance to process what was happening. He dropped to the ground in a heap, black blood spurting from his neck as he choked and gurgled on his last breath, his shocked yellow eyes fixated on to Lynwen standing over him. But instead of feeling triumph over her first ever kill, Lynwen only felt sick. Sick to her stomach that she had just inflicted such pain and torture onto another being, and was now watching him die a slow and painful death. She wanted to throw up in disgust, even dry-heaving a couple of times before she was thrown back into the battle again as an orc swiped his blade, carving deep into her thigh and causing her to cry out in pain. But there was no time to dwell on it, as she quickly ducked out of his second swipe, skilfully slicing across his stomach as she spun around behind him, planting both of her blades deep into his back. The orc howled in pain as Lynwen raised her leg, using her foot on his backside as leverage to pull out her blades from his body. She had freed her weapons in only a second, before she slit the orc's throat from behind, watching him fall to the ground just like his comrade before him.

But the sound of human cries had her attention re-focused on her companions among the midst of the battle, seeing that one of them was already dead on the ground and a second had just been fatally wounded. The horrifying sight had her crying out in shock.

"Lynwen, defend yourself!"

Baranor's cry had her reluctantly snapping back into the chaos of the fight, seeing that he was battling two orcs while a third raised his barbarous weapon above his head, ready to bring it down upon Lynwen. She quickly dropped to the ground and rolled away from his strike, cutting his shins in the process. But the orc only grunted from her attack, and brought down his weapon upon her again, catching Lynwen off guard by this his speed and agility. She managed to dart away from his second blow, remembering Meldiron and Legolas' advice that speed was everything when it came to battle, as she sliced at the orc's left calf muscle, causing his leg to buckle slightly. But he wasn't going to go down as easily as the previous two, as he continued to swing his torturous weapon with all of his might, slamming it down on top of her with a strength that would have cut her in two had she not continued to dodge his strikes with the speed and nimbleness that she had been taught by Legolas and Meldiron. But this orc clearly wasn't going to give-in any time soon, and Lynwen knew that if she didn't land a hit on him soon, there was a very good chance that she was finally going to screw-up her battle-moves and get ripped apart by his weapon.

But Baranor's cry had her distracted, as she helplessly watched the last orc that he had been battling, firmly plant his jagged sword deep into his chest.

"Baranor!" Lynwen screamed his name as she witnessed the Gondorian drop to his knees, his eyes flashing with shock as he watched his own blood pour from his torso. The sight of her new friend dying at the hands of these foul creatures, had her suddenly seeing red. A searing surge of passionate hatred flowing through her veins, suddenly gave her a strength that could rival a cave troll. Her body was acting on anger, alone, making all her fear dissipate in a second, before she charged at the orc that was still standing over Baranor, knocking him to the ground with her shoulder in his stomach. The fall winded the orc momentarily, giving Lynwen the split-second she needed to plant one of her knives through his eye, piercing his brain and killing him instantly. She immediately leapt off of his body as she turned her fury onto the orc that she had been battling beforehand. He was the last one left, and Lynwen screamed all of her hatred as she ran at him, completely fearless of the fact that this could very well be the death of her. She had tears of anger in her eyes as she dropped her body toward the ground, using the speed of her sprint to firmly land her foot into the orc's knee, causing it to snap backwards. The orc howled as he fell to the grass, quickly flipping onto his back in defence while brandishing his weapon towards Lynwen. But Lynwen's passionate anger and hatred was giving her a high sense of alertness, enabling her to jump over the swing of his sword before slicing at his wrist, the sharpness of her elven blade removing his hand in one clean cut, causing his sword to drop to the ground. And before he had a chance to register the life-threatening problem he had found himself in, Lynwen drove both of her blades into his face, killing him straight away.

She fell back onto her knees as she surveyed the massacre around her, completely breathless from exhaustion. The sight of her three Gondorian companions lying mutilated on the ground had her crying out in anguish. Never before had she witnessed such pointless and unnecessary deaths of completely innocent people whose only crime was to travel back home to their families. They hadn't deserved this, and they had just died for nothing! It had been only minutes before that they had innocently stopped for lunch, all completely unaware that their lives were going to be so cruelly snatched from them less than five minutes later. All of their dreams and aspirations taken from them in the blink of an eye. And what the hell for?! The orcs had attacked them for no reason whatsoever, murdering those men in a completely senseless and meaningless attack, instantly shattering the lives of their loved-ones back home.

Lynwen was rapidly developing a whole new level of loathing for these vile creatures as she stared at the carnage surrounding her. But the sight of her twin blades still protruding from one of the orc's face quickly brought on a fresh feeling of nausea. This had been her first battle, and all the training that she had received over the last eight years could never have prepared her for what it would it feel like to murder someone. Even though it had been in self-defence, the look in that first orc's eyes after she had slit his throat, would certainly haunt her dreams for the rest of her life. Her first kill. Something that Legolas had warned would be the hardest kill of her life. And she knew now, that he had been right.

But the sudden sound of shouting had her turning to look behind her, and the sight that she was met with had her frozen in sheer terror. For on the horizon, were easily a hundred orcs, all of them stood still, watching her from their location about a hundred metres away, their weapons drawn and ready for action.

Lynwen stood upright from her crumpled position on the floor and stared at the army with wide eyes. Was she expected to stay and fight? Would she be a coward if she turned and run? A coward was something that she promised herself she would never be, so maybe staying here and dying with pride would be for the best?

But a sudden whisper in her head from a familiar voice that she hadn't heard for a long time, suddenly made himself known. A memory that she had long ago buried into her subconscious along with all other reminders of him, had just resurfaced, repeating his instructions to her from all those years ago.

_"Don't ever try to be brave, Lynwen. Just Run!"_

Meldiron's strict instruction echoed around in her head, and the vivid memory of him had a fresh set of tears fogging her eyes. But they were tears not only of sorrow, but also of fury and loathing. These fuckers had taken far too many innocent lives; a couple of whom had been close to her heart. She made a decision in that split-second moment that she would make it her life's ambition to kill as many of these mangled cocksuckers as humanely possible. But that wasn't going to be today. Today, she was outnumbered and would surely die if she remained here.

So Lynwen bent down and quickly retrieved her twin blades from the orc's face, quickly placing them back into their holders on her hips.

"I'm so sorry guys." She whispered to the three Gondorians who lay dead amongst the carnage. "You didn't deserve this, and I'm just so sorry." She whimpered, finding the reality of their gory and senseless deaths to reek havoc on her emotions.

The orcs began to charge at her then, a hundred pairs of heavy footed monsters pounding into the earth with every step they took. The noise of their heavy footsteps was terrifying enough, never mind the sight of them!

"I'm sorry." Lynwen implored again to her three travelling companions, before she reluctantly turned away from the charging army, and ran as fast as she could towards the mountains.

xxx

March 3rd

Two days. Two whole days, Lynwen had been running. Even when she was certain that she had outrun the orcs after nightfall, two days previous. But she hadn't wanted to risk finding herself alone and in the midst of battle amongst a hundred of them, knowing that she would never have survived it. And that just would have been yet another pointless and meaningless death. No, she wouldn't let the orcs take her like that. She wouldn't let them win. Meldiron had been right all those years ago, and she had taken his advice literally, and now she was crippled from an excruciating stitch in her side, and the muscles in her legs had been worked to their absolute limit.

She finally decided to stop after she had come across a huge stone fortress that was built into the side of the mountain. She stood before it with her hands on her hips as she desperately tried to get her breath back, while mentally trying to figure out where she was. Knowing that she had been running along the foot of the mountains in a south-easterly fashion, she roughly calculated what distance she must have travelled over the last two days. But nothing from her childhood studies of Middle Earth was bringing up any suggestions as to what this fortress could be.

After sitting down for an hour against the walls of the fortress, while she tried to figure out what to do next, the distant sound of voices could be heard from the distance. Lynwen squinted her eyes and could make out a large group of people heading towards her. She instantly got ready to run, not knowing whether these people were friend or foe, but stopped when she could see that they were a collection of women and children, only. They were human, all carrying food and other supplies whilst looking absolutely exhausted, seeming as if they had been travelling for a couple of days, as well.

Lynwen decided that they didn't pose a threat and patiently waited for them to arrive, deciding that she could really use the help and assistance from a fellow being right about now.

"Who are you?"

A young woman with long blonde hair, who appeared to be leading the large group, stopped in front of Lynwen. Her stance was rigid and defensive and her narrowed eyes demanded an answer. So Lynwen slowly stood up, holding up her hands as she took a precautionary step towards the blonde.

"I was travelling to Gondor with my travelling companions when we were attacked by orcs, two days ago. My travelling companions were killed, but I managed to escape, and have been running ever since. I'm afraid that I don't know where I am, and I fear that I too, will die if I stay alone out here, any longer."

The blonde's face instantly softened, her eyes scanning up and down Lynwen's dishevelled appearance before she placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I am Lady Éowyn of Rohan." She said. "And this is Helm's Deep." She gestured to the huge fortress. "Our villages have been under attack lately and we have come here to seek refuge and safety. And you are more than welcome to join us here."

Lynwen instantly stiffened. Oh crap! She knew exactly who Lady Éowyn was. How could she ever forget?! This was Éomer's sister. The same Éomer whom she had been engaged to while still screwing Elrohir on the side! If Éowyn knew who she was, then she would not be welcome here, and Lynwen desperately needed safety and refuge right now.

"Um, my name is, uh, Lorena." Lynwen said, stealing the name of Meldiron's late wife, for it was the only human name she could think of while on the spot.

But Éowyn smiled warmly, seemingly unaware of Lynwen's true identity. "Nice to meet you Lorena. Come, I will take you inside where you can wash up and eat a hot meal."

Lynwen was so thankful to Éowyn in that moment, hearing her own stomach grumble loudly at the promise of food.

"But, where are all the men?" Lynwen asked, as she followed Éowyn and the countless other women and children up the stone ramp and through the huge double doors into the fortress.

A worried look crossed Éowyn's face at that, as she stopped dead in her tracks while looking down at the ground.

"We run into some trouble on our journey here." She said quietly. "The men stayed behind to fight, while I was instructed to guide the women and children the rest of the way here."

"Oh, I'm sorry..."

"They will return." Éowyn's curt voice cut Lynwen off mid-sentence as she lifted her head to look at her, that defiant look that Lynwen had witnessed outside the fortress, now displayed across her face.

"The men will return." Éowyn repeated. "And when they do, we need to have everything prepared for their arrival."

Lynwen only looked back at her, unsure of whether it would be wise to speak or not, as it was abundantly clear that Éowyn was extremely anxious about the men's welfare, and anything that Lynwen said at this moment might only upset the Lady of Rohan even more.

"Come, I'll show you to a room where you can wash and change your clothes." And with that, Éowyn turned and began walking further into the fortress.

And before Lynwen followed after her, she silently wondered if the men that Éowyn was referring to, included Éomer. She rubbed the palm of her hand over her face in exasperation as she hoped to the Valar, that it didn't.


	31. Fear and Dread

_Thank you so much for all your continued support and for the time that you all take to read, and even review! It's just amazing, so thank you!_

_Once again a huge thanks to 'Michelle'. It's really nice to see the same people coming back chapter after chapter, and a Happy New Year to you, too!_

_To 'Phox'. Wow, thanks for the really long review, I really appreciated it! And I hope that you continue to enjoy the story. Thanks so much for reading!_

_And to 'ggincs', thank you so much for taking the time to read my story, and I promise that I will tone down on the 'f' word from now on. :) And I hope that you continue to enjoy the story!_

**OK, so this is a warning that there's sexual content in this chapter.**

Chapter 31 - Fear and Dread

Aragorn examined his sword for the hundredth time, occasionally dragging his sharpening stone over the worn edges of the blade. All around him was chaos. People were running about the place, shouting orders, carrying food and weapons in all directions, and clumsily knocking into each other in their haste. No doubt these people had already heard about what was descending upon this fortress, and knew that they only had a few hours to prepare.

The women and children were going into the safety of the caves that enclosed the fortress of Helms Deep, while every able-bodied man and boy were being suited up and readied for battle.

Aragorn lifted his head and looked out at the sea of anxious and worried faces as they hurried past him, feeling a deep and intense sensation of dread. It wasn't often he had witnessed Legolas completely lose it like he had just done, and he couldn't deny that the ellon's panicked outburst had only added to the stress that he had already been feeling, himself.

Secretly, he had been hoping for Legolas to reassure him that everything was going to be OK, that they stood a chance against the ten thousand-strong army of uruk hai that was marching towards them for battle. But his Mirkwood friend hadn't given him the hope that he had so greatly needed, and instead, the elf had forced him to face the horrible facts; that no-one in this fortress was going to survive the night. And it was a horrible truth that Aragorn just couldn't bear to acknowledge, which had forced him to snap at Legolas, shouting his frustration at the elf before abruptly walking away from him.

Aragorn sighed as he lowered his head, examining his sword once more. He and Legolas had developed a strong friendship over these past few months, and the fact that they just had a huge falling out made Aragorn lose even more hope. If they stood even the slightest chance of winning this battle, then they needed to be on the same side.

"Estel?"

Aragorn lifted his head to see who was addressing him by a name that was only ever used, or even known, by his Rivendell family and friends.

"Oh thank the Valar, it is you!" Lynwen exclaimed as she flung her arms around her foster brother's shoulders, gripping him tightly to her small frame.

"Lynwen, what are you doing here?" Aragorn exclaimed as he pulled away to look down at her.

"I was lost and came across this place by accident. Where is Legolas? Is he alright?" She blurted.

But Aragorn furrowed his brow in confusion. "Aye, he's fine, but what about your travelling companions?" He started looking behind her, as if trying to seek out the Gondorian men that she had left Rivendell with. But when his eyes landed back on to hers, the fear and sorrow that projected out from her, told him everything he needed to know.

"Lynwen I'm so sorry." He said through an exhale. "What happened?"

Lynwen gulped down her emotions as the horrid vision of what happened to her Gondorian friends, flashed through her mind. "We were attacked by orcs." Was all she said as he brought her into his chest, firmly wrapping his arms around her.

"I'm so sorry." He muttered again, his hold on her tightening as his fear for what was approaching the fortress came to the forefront of his mind.

But Lynwen pulled away from his embrace, mentally shaking herself back to her senses. Every time she thought about what had happened to her Gondorian friends, the desire to crumble to the ground in an emotional mess, engulfed her entire body. But she didn't want to feel the pain that their loss brought upon her, and so, for the millionth time in the last couple of days, she pushed it to the back of her mind.

"Were you hurt?" Aragorn suddenly asked, his eyes scanning her up and down.

"Just a cut on my thigh." She said, looking up at Aragorn's face as she awaited his reaction. "Lady Éowyn kindly saw to it."

Aragorn stopped his searching of injuries and met her stare, instantly understanding her predicament. "Does she know who you are?"

Lynwen shook her head. "No. Thankfully she introduced herself first, so I had a few seconds to make-up a name."

Aragorn nodded his head in understanding. He'd also gotten to know Éowyn a little and knew she would not have taken so kindly to Lynwen had she known that she was the girl who had betrayed her brother all those years ago.

"Is… _he_ here?" Lynwen asked hesitantly.

Aragorn nodded his head solemnly. "Aye, I'm afraid he is. He's with his uncle, King Théoden, at the moment."

Lynwen closed her eyes for a moment as she inhaled deeply. This was going to be bad. Éomer was not going to be at all pleased to see her, and she began to cringe at the horrible thought. How would he react? Would he make it very clear that she wasn't welcome here, throwing her back out into the wilderness on her own?

She opened her eyes and shrugged her shoulders, trying to physically shake off the dread that she was feeling at having to come face to face with him again. "OK, well there's nothing that can be done about it now." She said through an exhale.

Aragorn smirked at Lynwen's attempt to cover up her anxiety at seeing her ex-fiancée again, but the fear and dread that was still weighing down on him, was reflected through his eyes. As much as he was pleased to see his foster sister again, he couldn't prevent from wishing that she wasn't here. How was he supposed to protect her when there was a ten-thousand-strong army descending upon the fortress? Her presence only added to the stress that he had already been feeling.

"So where's Legolas?" Lynwen asked.

Aragorn looked up towards the upper levels of the fortress. "The last time I saw him, he was in the armoury." Aragorn silently, and solemnly reflected on the argument he'd had with his elven friend. "But maybe you should leave him be for a while." Aragorn added. "He wasn't in the best humour, and I suspect he may need some space right now."

Lynwen's heart ached to see Legolas again, and despite what Aragorn said, she was going to seek him out. Besides, as far as she knew, Aragorn, along with everyone else, still had no idea that she and Legolas were bound. So she could excuse her foster brother's advice to leave the Mirkwood prince alone, knowing that he still assumed that Lynwen was still only a friend of the elf and nothing more.

Lynwen nodded, as she looked up at the upper-levels. "OK, but I think I'll head up there anyway and see if I can help with anything." She lied. She was desperate to see Legolas again and needed to find him.

"Aye, OK." Aragorn replied. "But you'll need to make your way to the caves soon, Lynwen." He said. "I know that they will be sealing them off soon, and you must be inside when they do."

Everyone knew what was descending upon this fortress, and she intended to fight with the men tonight. What was the point in having to endure all that back-breaking training with Meldiron and Legolas over the years, if she was just going to cower away in the caves? But she knew that Aragorn would never agree to it, so she just decided to pacify him for now.

"Ok, I will."

xxx

Legolas stood on the platform of the highest tower, looking out at the lands beyond the horizon. The late afternoon sun was setting in the distance, casting a peaceful orange glow upon everything in its path, the sun seemingly uncaring as to what he and the people within this fortress were going to have to endure that night, as it proceeded to cover Middle Earth in its blanket of natural orange beauty.

With his elven eye-sight, he could see the army of uruk hai approaching, estimating that they were only a few hours away, and his gut wrenched again from the apprehension he was being consumed by. It was going to be a hopeless fight with he, his friends, and all of these innocent people being slaughtered before the end of the night, and his heart felt heavy with sorrow at the realisation that he wasn't ever going to see Lynwen again. The pain he felt at being away from her intensified at the thought that he would never again feel the softness of her skin beneath his fingers, or never again be engulfed by her sweet scent as he buried his face into the crook of her neck, or never again feel the intensely deep and emotional connection to her soul when he had been buried deep inside her.

He continued to stare out at the horizon, disconnecting himself completely from the chaos that was continuing below within the fort, allowing himself instead, to become lost to his thoughts and emotions.

"Legolas?"

He instantly zoned back into the present, instinctively alerting himself to his surroundings as he spun around to face the owner of the voice. But his fear and dread towards the upcoming battle soon turned to elation at the sight of his wife, followed quickly by worry at the dishevelled sight of his beloved Lynwen.

But the shock at seeing her here caused all words to evaporate from his mouth. He could only look at her, standing a number of feet before him, as he tried to determine if this pointless battle that he would soon find himself in was now affecting his sanity. Was he missing the love of his life so much that he had just imagined her out of thin air?

But the way in which the setting sun momentarily reflected off a stray tear that was running down her face, causing it to gleam, with her unshed tears making her eyes glisten brightly, brought him back to reality. She really was here; his wife, his love, his Lynwen.

"I'm so sorry." Lynwen croaked, breaking the silence between them as she desperately tried to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat. Just seeing him here now, finally, after all those agonising months apart, brought on all the extreme guilt that had been consuming her ever since the moment that she had flippantly said goodbye to him in Rivendell, three months previous.

"I'm so sorry." Her pained voice wavered through her rapidly flowing tears as she quickly strode the few steps to where he was standing, flinging her arms around his shoulders as she buried her face into his chest. "I was so horrible to you in Rivendell." She sobbed, her fingers clinging to his shirt in her desperate attempt to never let him go again. "And I've never been sorrier." She cried.

Legolas returned her embrace by eagerly wrapping his arms around her small frame, crushing her to his body as he buried his face in her hair, closing his eyes as he inhaled everything about her.

"I'm so sorry, Legolas. Please forgive me." Lynwen repeated in desperation.

Legolas placed his hands on her upper arms and pulled himself back slightly from their embrace. He took a moment to look into her eyes, relishing in the souring feelings of extreme love that were currently bringing his vacant soul back to life. Just staring into her dark blue eyes was enough to re-ignite his devoid persona that had been formed by fear and dread for the impending battle. Just looking into her eyes gave him a new hope for tonight. He now had Lynwen here to give him the strength that he needed so much, and a new purpose to insure that this battle was won. He had Lynwen here to protect, and there was no way that he was going to allow any orc or uruk hai scum to get anywhere near her.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Lynwen." Legolas reassured her as he placed his hands on the sides of her face, his fingers harshly pushed back into her long knotted hair. "I just can't believe that you're here." He said in wonder as his despairing eyes frantically scanned her face, his grip on her tightening for a second before he smashed his lips against hers with a speed and force that openly displayed his desperation to be with her. They both kissed frantically for only a second before they began placing short, frenzied kisses all over each others' faces, their hands grasping and moving all over the other as they tried, desperately, to feel one another, both physically and emotionally, as much as possible.

"By the Valar, I've missed you so much." Legolas breathed heavily onto the skin of her cheek, his eyes still closed as his hands rose up into her hair.

"I've missed you too." Lynwen whispered, her face now buried in the crook of his neck, allowing the familiarity of his masculine scent to comfort her a little.

Legolas sighed heavily in contentment, his deep breaths breezing into her hair as he kept his eyes closed, holding her body tightly to his. Feeling her knotted, but soft hair, beneath his fingertips, and smelling the familiar sweet scent of her smooth skin, ignited his heart into a fiery chamber, reminding him of the intensely deep love he felt for this woman, but also awakening the dangerous and lethal side to him that he always tried so hard to suppress when Lynwen was around. He will always remember the way that Lynwen used to look at him when they first met, the blatant fear and unease displayed in her eyes during that time would forever be painfully engraved into his memory. He had loved her from the moment he had first laid eyes on her, and the mere thought that she used to be utterly terrified of him, made his chest ache. He had never wanted her to look at him like that again, and so he had made a determined effort to lock his ruthless warrior persona firmly away during the past eight and a half years, proving to Lynwen that she didn't need to fear him.

But this fully-formed bond that they now shared, made this determination of his a constant struggle. The desire to savagely rip anyone apart who dared to even go near his wife, engulfed his body and clouded his better judgement, seemingly causing his cut-throat Mirkwood persona to re-surface again. But he just couldn't help it. His instinct to protect her was just too strong.

"What happened?" He asked softly, his arms still holding her tightly to him with his face now buried in her hair.

Lynwen took a deep breath as she reluctantly pulled away slightly from their embrace and looked up at him. "We were attacked by orcs." She said solemnly, feeling an intense sense of anger at the memory of what had happened to her friends. "We didn't stand a chance. We were outnumbered and caught by surprise..." She trailed off as she tried to compose her rising fury, mixed with her intense grief. "They were killed, Legolas!" She blurted through her emotional rage as she remembered the fate of her Gondorian friends. "The three of them were killed for no reason at all! Right there in front of me!"

"Shh" Legolas soothed as he brought her back into a hug, gently rubbing his hands up and down her back to comfort her. His grip on her tightened at the thought of what she had had to endure at the hands of those vile creatures, his blood turning cold in sheer fright at what could have happened to her. By the Valar, he'd make those mutilated bastards pay for this. He promised himself there and then that he would show no mercy to the enemy tonight.

"Shh." He said again, as he held her even tighter to his lithe body. "I'll never let anything happen to you ever again. Even if it kills me." He promised, feeling a whole new level of loathing for orcs. First they took his mother away from him, and then they tried to take his wife, too?! That was it! The pure, blood-curdling rage that was engulfing him at that moment was giving him all the energy he needed for tonight's battle. Even though there was a very good chance that he would die, he was going to ensure that every single orc and uruk hai would suffer immensely at his hands. And he was going to enjoy every single second of it!

"Were you hurt?" He asked, worried, pushing her away slightly as he scanned her body up and down.

Lynwen shook her head. "Just a cut to my thigh, but I've had it seen to."

Legolas nodded at her reassuring words as his eyes proceeded to scan her up and down. "You've lost a lot of weight." He acknowledged with a furrowed brow. "Too much." He concluded concernedly.

Lynwen smiled, knowing it was only a matter of time before he mentioned the loss of her curves; the curves that he had made no secret of loving.

"I like the new me!" She answered enthusiastically, truly loving her new-found lean, slinky body.

But Legolas wasn't convinced as he continued to look her up and down with a deep-set crease between his eyebrows. "Well, it's something that we can talk about at another time." He said, his level and firm voice dictating that the debate was over, for now.

His eyes lifted from her body and landed on her face, his expression changing from concerned to grim. As much as he was happy that they were together again, he couldn't help but wish that she wasn't here at all. Knowing that this fort was going to be attacked within hours, made him deeply regret that Lynwen was going to be caught up in the middle of it. He knew that he would happily die defending her, but would the sacrifice of his own life be enough to save hers?

His heart began to pound with panic again, the fear and dread that he had been feeling all afternoon was now consuming his body even more than before. He was desperate to save her life, to save her from a horrible fate if those disgusting monsters ever got the chance to lay their hands on her. He was instantly reminded of that horrendous time when he'd found Lynwen in the depths of Mirkwood Forest, her powerless form trapped beneath that son-of-a-bitch-orc who was attempting to take advantage of her beautiful body. And that sickening image would forever be engraved into his memory, fuelling his long-time hatred for the mangled scumbags. He'd never experienced rage like he had done that day all those years ago, remembering the pure joy and sense of peace that he had felt when he had ripped that orc's body to pieces. Just remembering the immense satisfaction he had felt as he listened to the pained sounds of the orc violently losing his life, and feeling the huge amounts of foul, black blood splatter at his skin as he had savagely cut up the orc's body, gave him a brand new taste for vengeance. He was longing to feel that again, to experience an orc die horrendously at his own fingertips. To seek vengeance for his mother and Lynwen.

His eyes darkened as that familiar rage began to sour through his veins, making his pulse accelerate and his grip on Lynwen to tighten. He could feel himself slowly losing control, his panic and anger directing him away from his usual calm-and-collected self.

He pulled back from their embrace and looked into Lynwen's eyes, his intense desire to protect her, taking over his body.

"You shouldn't be here." He said curtly, as if only suddenly realising that she was present within the fortress. "You need to go."

Lynwen was caught off guard by his strange and abrupt change of topic. "Legolas what are you talking about? I'm not going anywhere..."

But Legolas gripped Lynwen's upper arm, the tightness of his hold surprising her into silence. "You can't be here." He said firmly, as he began to lead her back inside the fortress. "The women and children will be taking refuge within the caves during the battle, and that's where you will go." Legolas continued to lead Lynwen through the dimly-lit stone-walled corridors of Helm's Deep, roughly tugging her forward whenever her steps faltered. "Of course, I would much prefer you to not be here at all, but the caves will be your best bet, and once you are sealed inside, they won't stand much of a chance of getting to you..."

"Stop, Legolas!" Legolas' frantic rant was cut short when Lynwen harshly pulled her arm free of his grip, stopping dead in her tracks. "I'm not going into the caves, Legolas." She said firmly, staring at him head-on and showing him that her mind was made up.

But Legolas took a couple of threatening steps towards her, his murderous glare daring her to object. "I'm not going to argue with you on this one, Lynwen. You're going into the caves."

"No, I am not!" Lynwen repeated in defiance. She squared her shoulders slightly. "I'm going to stay out here and fight."

Legolas moved at her so fast, that Lynwen hadn't even noticed until he was slamming the door shut to the small storage room that he had just pushed her into.

"What the hell is your problem?" Lynwen asked him in annoyance as she quickly steadied herself after being literally knocked off her feet.

He turned around to face her, his tall frame towering over her with the faint light of the setting-sun that was shining through a small window, emphasising the fire in his ice-blue eyes. He was a force to be reckoned with at that moment, looming over Lynwen's much smaller frame, with a threatening expression on his face that she hadn't seen in years.

"Do you even realise what it is that's descending upon this fortress?" Legolas asked in a low but cold voice.

"Yes, I do." Lynwen replied with confidence. "It's all everyone's talking about. A ten thousand-strong army of orcs."

Legolas' brows drew together in anger as he studied his wife. "This is an army of uruk hai, Lynwen." He seethed. "They're not like the orcs that you have encountered. They're bigger, stronger, and much more ruthless. And they'll have no problem in tearing you limb from limb." He added coldly.

Lynwen couldn't deny that his words had chilled her to the bone. She had never encountered one of these uruk hai before, and Legolas' terrifying description of them had simply petrified her.

She wasn't a warrior, she realised that, but at the same time, her husband and brother were going to be caught up in this impending battle, and she just couldn't hide away in the caves while they were out here fighting for their lives. She wasn't a coward, and she was determined to fight by their side.

"I don't care." She said quietly, swallowing down her fear. "I'm going to fight with you..."

"No you're not!" Legolas shouted, moving towards her at a speed that surprised Lynwen again. His large hands gripped her shoulders firmly while his fiery and dangerous eyes pierced her very soul.

"What the hell has gotten into you?!" Lynwen retaliated to his boisterous behaviour.

"You, have!" Legolas shouted in response, his chest rising up and down rapidly as he struggled to get his breathing under control. His face was mere inches from hers as he continued to stare deep inside her, but his eyes were beginning to soften slightly with concern. "You, have gotten into me, Lynwen." He said much more quietly, but his was voice strained with emphasis. "You're in my head, my heart, my soul..." He trailed off as he released his hold on her shoulders and placed his hands on the wall behind her, boxing her in. He looked down to the ground as his shoulders heaved up and down with his erratic breathing. "You've taken over every part of me." He said in exasperation, looking back up to face her, his eyes now desperately searching her face.

Lynwen just stared back at him in silence for a moment. "You say it like it's a bad thing." She spoke quietly once she had found her voice, the insecurities that she had fought so hard to contain since her break-up with Elrohir, coming back with a vengeance.

But Legolas' eyes softened even more as he stared back at her. His hands moved from the wall behind her head to cup her face in a desperate manner. "Lynwen, you obviously have no idea what you've done to me," He said exasperated, his fingertips gripping her head tightly. "The pure joy that I feel every single day, knowing that you are finally my wife, gives me a whole new reason for living. Yes, you've taken over every part of me, but you've awakened every inch of me by doing so." He leant his forehead against hers, gently closing his eyes as he took a moment to deeply inhale everything about her. "You're the beating of my heart, the air that feeds my lungs, and the force that drives me forward every day. You're my lifeline, and I'm simply obsessed with you, Lynwen."

His heartfelt words touched Lynwen to her core, igniting their newly-found shared bond that connected them emotionally. She closed her eyes too and pushed her fingers back into his hair, softly brushing her cheek against his. His elation and deep love for her was souring throughout her own body, physically allowing her to feel his true feelings for her. This bond that they shared was the most beautiful thing that she had ever experienced in her life, allowing her to feel deep emotions on a level that she had never thought were possible.

"I love you more than anything." She whispered as she gently hovered her lips over his, both of them softly breathing in each other's air.

But it was Legolas who finally closed the small gap between them, softly placing his mouth on top of hers in a gentle kiss, as his hands slid back into her knotted hair. He kissed her slowly, his tongue gently moving into her mouth at a snail's pace, savouring in the feel and taste of her.

"I've missed you so much." He breathed heavily against her lips, before delving his tongue greedily back into her mouth, his grip on her hair tightening as he used his body to press her up against the wall.

He had been craving this moment for the last three months; to be kissing his wife and tasting her like this, to feel her body pressed up against his just like it was now. In all the years that he had loved Lynwen, he had never craved the connection to her soul that making love to her could bring, as much as he craved it now. When he had made love to her in Rivendell, it had ignited his every sense, every emotion, and increased his need for her a million times over. His mind and body constantly ached for her. She was his addiction.

And right now, not only did he crave his wife, but their heated kiss was helping to eradicate his fear and dread for tonight's battle. He craved the love of his wife, but was also finding joy in the numbing sensation that she was bringing him. Lynwen was momentarily helping to dull his fears for the battle, and he took advantage of that fact as much as he could.

And so, because of this, his control was slipping. His need for her and for the comfort that her body was bringing him, was taking over his senses. His heart was beating out of control, pumping his blood to other areas of his body at lightening speed. He groaned into her mouth as he pushed his hardening elf-hood into her groin, pinning her body up against the wall with a brute force that was begging to be unleashed on to his new wife. The things he wanted to do to her at that exact moment matched that of a feral animal unrestrainedly claiming it's sexual prey. Gone was all moral and instead, all he craved was to be buried deep within Lynwen's warmth, pumping his rock-hard erection ferociously in and out of his wife; his possession, his property, just, _his_.

His reached down to her behind and roughly hoisted her up, wrapping her legs around his waist which allowed him much better access to the area between her thighs. He used his hips to hold her up as he harshly grabbed a hold of her wrists and rammed her hands into the wall above her head, inciting a pained whimper from Lynwen. She was powerless and unable to move as he continued to kiss her with a wild fervour, and thrust his erection into her clothed centre like an animal possessed.

Legolas' dread for the impending battle that night was returning tenfold as he continued to force his body up against Lynwen's as much as he could. What if this would be the last time that they would see each other? The last time that they would _be_ together?!

Legolas abruptly dropped Lynwen to the floor before roughly turning her around and forcing her to bend over a nearby table, slamming her face into the wooden surface. He hungrily took a hold of the waistband of her leggings and underwear and pulled them down just enough to expose her hot centre as he desperately freed his erection like his very-life depended on being buried within her. And only a split-second later, he shoved himself deep inside her in just one vigorous thrust, burying his rock-hard elf-hood to the hilt. And with one hand restraining both of her wrists behind her back, and the other pushing her face down into the wooden surface of the table, he took her hard and deep. He pumped at an erratic pace, desperate to feel his wife, and desperate to numb his fears for what was probably going to happen to them that night. He needed this release more than anything, and allowed himself to brutally take his wife over the edge of that table, pouring as much of his pent-up fear and anger into this as possible, all the while, pressing her down into the table so that she was unable to move. He hated himself for doing this to her, as he had always imagined that his and Lynwen's sexual encounters would be slow and sweet. But even with regret weighing heavily on his heart, he just couldn't control the feral animal that was unleashing itself on her, pounding her small body so hard that the table that she was bent over was banging loudly against the wall. And within no time at all, his climax was releasing itself deep inside of her as Legolas grimaced and howled loudly at the sensational feeling that his wife's body was bringing him; wonderfully giving him a split-second of peace from all the horror, fury, and worry that had been plaguing his mind, immensely.

They both remained unmoving for a long moment afterwards, both of them panting hard as they tried to re-gather themselves.

But after a minute or so, Legolas sheepishly released his hold on Lynwen's wrists and head, tentatively taking a step back to give her room to stand up as he re-buttoned his fly. He looked at her in silence, the extreme concern and worry he was feeling for taking her so harshly, reflecting in his ice-blue eyes. What had he just done?

Lynwen slowly pushed herself up from the table before turning around to face him. She reached down and pulled up her underwear and leggings, all the while staring at him with slightly wide eyes, but she continued to remain quiet.

"Lynwen, say something, please." Legolas begged, his expression looking worried, and even horrified, for what he had just done.

Lynwen took a moment to right herself, tucking her shirt back into her leggings and readjusting the hunting knife on her hip. She didn't know what to say. She knew from the moment that she had seen him staring out at the horizon at the top of the tower, that he was somewhere else, emotionally. He hadn't even heard her approaching, which had been a first. The look in his eyes tonight had been the look of a man who was haunted. Haunted by horror, grief, fear, and a burden that was clearly weighing him down. He wasn't the Legolas that had been her best friend for the past eight years. No, this person standing before her was someone else. A stranger.

But a stranger or not, this elf standing here was still her husband, and she forced herself to remember that fact.

But as she continued to remain silent staring back at him, watching him standing there staring at her with fear and worry etched into those beautiful eyes of his, she knew that her best friend was beginning to come back to her. She could see his familiar concern for her well-being shining through his eyes, and she could feel his extreme love for her deep within her own heart. There he was; her best friend, her husband, her Legolas.

"Lynwen, please." Legolas croaked as he took a wary step towards her. His arms were momentarily held out as if to embrace her, before he clearly thought better of it and he nervously dropped his hands by his sides.

But the fact that he had just taken her wasn't the issue for Lynwen. At the end of the day, she had been getting just as carried away with that kiss as he had, and had wanted him just as badly. No, what concerned Lynwen was the _way_ in which he had just taken her, as it had been so out of character for Legolas. She knew him well enough to know that he was always so gentle and sincere towards her well-being, so it surprised her that he had this hidden ability to be able to just take her body so aggressively. She didn't mind rough sex, and had secretly always enjoyed the animalistic side to Elrohir all those years ago. But she had never expected Legolas to lose control like that, and it worried her that he may not be coping too well with this quest that he was on.

"Lynwen, I beg you, please."

She opened her mouth to respond to him but was cut off by the brash voice of Gimli who was approaching the small room that they were hidden away in. "Legolas?"

Lynwen instinctively looked in the direction of the closed door, but Legolas didn't flinch. He continued to stare at Lynwen with extreme concern, anxiously awaiting her reaction to his brutish behaviour.

"Oi, Legolas, are you in there?"

Lynwen looked back to Legolas to see why he wasn't acknowledging Gimli, and found that he was still staring at her, and her heart ached at the desolate way in which he looked. He had a thin glaze of tears in his eyes that illuminated the ice-like colour even more than usual, but also defined the sadness and panic that he was feeling. She could feel his pain and concern excruciatingly carving itself into her own chest, and she wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around him and never let him go.

But Lynwen jumped slightly after Gimli shouted out again, and decided to just answer on Legolas' behalf.

"We're in here!" Lynwen called out, looking towards the door as Gimli abruptly shoved it open. But Legolas' eyes never left hers.

Gimli startled slightly after he entered. "Lady Lynwen! What are you doing here?"

"Hello My Lord Gimli, it's lovely to see you again." Lynwen said with a forced smile upon her face. She genuinely was happy to see the dwarf again, but could only remain focused on her husband's pain at that moment. "It's a long story, but I coincidentally found myself at this fort, too." She added in a pleasant tone.

"Ha, well isn't that a nice surprise! Maybe you can cheer up the elf a bit!" Gimli added sarcastically with a nod of his head towards Legolas.

Lynwen laughed politely and looked to her husband, only to find he was still looking at her with an anxious expression upon his face. His anguish was blatantly reflected in his pained and sorrowful eyes.

"Legolas, we need to get down to the armoury and suit up." Gimli said as he turned and began walking towards the open door, clearly oblivious to Legolas' upset. "I've been looking for you for ages, and all the good armour is probably already gone by now, so move that skinny arse of yours before there's nothing left!" And with that, Gimli exited the room.

Legolas took a wary step towards Lynwen, his eyes still not leaving hers. He stopped in front of her, his eyes still glistening from his unshed tears as his hands hovered nervously between them.

"Legolas, look..."

"Please go into the caves, Lynwen."

Lynwen's mouth instantly closed at his blunt interruption. He finally broke his penetrative stare to look down at the floor. "Please, Lynwen. Please, go into the caves." He looked back up and stared into her eyes. "I beg you."

And with that, he left the room, leaving Lynwen standing there looking at the empty space that he had just vacated.

xxx

Lynwen had gone and found her brother not long after Legolas had left, and had been spending the good part of an hour trying to convince him that she was more than capable to stay out and fight. As she had expected, her protests had been futile at first, but surprisingly for her, it finally looked like she was beginning to wear him down.

She watched as Aragorn stopped in his mad rush around the place and sighed heavily, firmly rubbing his forehead with the palm of his hand. His eyes were firmly closed as he took a moment to seemingly banish a pestering headache.

"OK." He opened his eyes and looked at her, allowing his arm to drop to his side in defeat. "OK." He said again through an exhale. "I give up." He raised his hands in a surrender-like fashion. "You can stay out here and fight."

Lynwen's smile had never grown so wide. "Are you serious?"

Aragorn reluctantly nodded his head, to which Lynwen immediately flung her arms around his shoulders, hugging him tightly. "Thank you so much!" She brought her head back to look at him. "This means so much to me, Estel."

Aragorn nodded his head again before dismissing her with his hands. "Yeah yeah, but just make sure that I don't regret this decision." He pointed a finger in her face.

"You won't, I promise!" Lynwen implored, her smile still spread right the way across her face.

"Right, well OK, you'll need to get suited up." Aragorn said. "C'mon, I'll take you to the weapons room."

Lynwen ran after him, still unbelieving of the fact that she had managed to convince her brother to let her fight. But she inwardly cringed at what Legolas was going to say about this once he found out, knowing that he wasn't going to be at all happy. He'd be furious, in fact.

Or would he? she wondered. After their reunion this afternoon, she wasn't so sure whether the Legolas she had come to know, was even present anymore. He had seemed like nothing more than an empty shell today, with the odd spur of anger, fear and concern surfacing, before retreating back into his dark thoughts again.

She was so worried about him. He just wasn't himself and this quest was clearly taking its toll on him.

"Here we are." Aragorn broke into her thoughts as he stopped outside a door. He pushed it open to reveal a small storage room, similar in size to the one that she and Legolas had been in earlier. It looked too small to house the vast array of weapons that Lynwen was expecting to find.

"Go on in." Aragorn spoke from beside her. "There are weapons in that chest on the other side of the room."

Lynwen turned her head to look at him standing beside her, wondering why, just before a huge battle was about to unleash itself upon this fortress, this 'weapons room' had no one inside. Where were all the men gathering up what they needed in order to fight?

"This is just an overflow room." Aragorn said, as if reading her thoughts. "The huge amount of weapons and armour within this fort couldn't all be stored within the armoury as there just wasn't enough room, so the remainder were stored here." He offered as an explanation, before gesturing his head toward the open doorway.

Lynwen looked back to the small room and hesitantly walked inside and over to the chest on the opposite side. She knelt down on the floor and lifted the lid to look inside, only to see that it was completely empty.

"Estel, there isn't anything in here." She said, turning her head to look at her brother sanding in the open doorway. But the grim expression on his face as he looked at her apologetically, made her heart skip a beat. And when she looked down to see a bunch of keys in his hand, she felt sick to her stomach.

"I'm so sorry, Lynwen." Was all he said before he took a quick retreating step back out into the corridor, pulling the door closed behind him.

"No, don't!" Lynwen shouted as she jumped to her feet, sprinting the few steps to the, now firmly closed, door. But she heard the deep, loud sound of the heavy bolt clunking into place just as she attempted to turn the handle. She was too late. Aragorn had locked her in here.

"Estel, you can't do this!" Lynwen shouted through the thick wooden door. "Estel, please!"

Aragorn hovered outside the room for a moment, feeling a little guilty for what he had just done, but knowing deep down that it was the right thing to do. She had point-blank refused to go into the caves, and there was no way on this earth that he was going to allow her to stay out here and fight. She was his little sister, and he needed to protect her. And before he had left Rivendell on this quest three months previous, Elrond had made him promise to keep Lynwen safe if he was to ever cross paths with her.

Well this was him keeping his promise to his foster father. This was him keeping Lynwen safe, in the best way that he could.

Aragorn jumped slightly as Lynwen began kicking and beating at the door, screaming obscenities in her attempt to break-free. He just stood there for a number of silent moments, staring at the closed door and listening to her screaming and shouting from the other side. All he could do was to take a deep refreshing breath, happy now that Lynwen was safely locked away, before he turned and walked down the corridor, mentally preparing himself for what he knew was to be the most challenging night of his life.


	32. The Reality of War

_**This is a warning that there's graphic violence, sexual innuendos and strong language in this chapter. Although I have toned down a great deal on the language, I still feel it necessary in certain situations :)**_

Chapter 32 - The Reality of War

The screams. The terrifying and horrific screams of the men and boys that were violently losing their lives outside, invaded Lynwen's senses. She sat atop the empty wooden chest, covering her ears where she desperately tried to block out the horrific sounds of their lives coming to a violent end. But no matter how hard she tried, it was all she could hear.

She had given up trying to break out of the small storage room a number of hours before, and instead, had been slumped on top of the empty wooden chest in defeat. She had kicked and beaten at the thick wooden door for the first couple of hours that she had been in here, and had consequently used up most of her strength in doing so. Aragorn had chosen well. The door was unbreakable and firmly locked, meaning that there was no way that she was able to break out of this room, alone.

The battle had been well under way for many hours now, with the vast array of torches that were lighting up the keep, helping to slightly illuminate the small room that she was trapped in, meaning that all she could do was to helplessly watch the shadows that the battle outside was casting on the walls in front of her.

Another young boy horrifically losing his life outside caused Lynwen to leap up off the wooden chest in a mixture of fright and anger, and jump up to the small window, grabbing a hold of the metal bars that were placed in front of the thin pane of glass. And for the umpteenth time that night, while clinging to the metal bars with a death-grip, she placed her feet flat on the wall and proceeded to pull with all of her might, hoping beyond hope to dislodge the bars that were keeping her prisoner and get out there to help them fight.

But just like all of her other previous attempts, the bars refused to give way, keeping her firmly locked up inside.

Her feet dropped lethargically, scraping on the cold stone wall before coming to hover a foot above the ground. She allowed her legs to dangle whilst still clinging on to the metal bars, helplessly looking out of the high window. She had no idea why she was watching the battle take place, for the sounds alone were enough to forever disturb her.

But nothing could have prepared her for the shock she felt at seeing the enemy for the first time. Legolas had been right. These weren't the orcs that she was familiar with. These were monsters on a whole other scale. Their huge size and solid stature was absolutely terrifying, and they didn't hold back on their brutality, for it took only a matter of seconds before she witnessed a man being cut in two by one of these vile creatures; the unexpected sight of it instantly causing bile to rise into her throat. The horrifying sight caused the memories of her Gondorian friends being mercilessly murdered in front of her, to come thundering back. Even though it had still only been a few days since she had watched all three of them being slaughtered, she wondered if the images of them desperately trying to cling on to their lives would ever leave her be.

She suddenly witnessed one of these uruk hai approaching a boy from behind. The boy couldn't have been more than around seventeen years old, and was too busy clumsily swinging his sword at an orc, whom he actually managed to kill. But before he had a chance to celebrate his small defeat, the oversized uruk hai was behind him. Lynwen began screaming at the top of her lungs, hoping beyond hope that the boy would hear her warning shouts, but it was to no avail, because within a split second, the beast had brought down its axe, fatally injuring the poor boy before finishing him off with one last heavy blow across his head. Lynwen screamed in horror before letting go of the bars and allowing herself to drop to the ground as she proceeded to dry-heave uncontrollably. That was the second person she'd seen so savagely and violently losing their lives in only a matter of moments, realising that she had never witnessed anything so brutal in all of her life. At least her Gondorian friends had been face to face with their enemy, looking them in the eye as they had been given the chance to defend themselves. But the poor souls out there were just being mutilated left right and centre without any warning, being viscously hacked to pieces from all angles without a second thought for the lives that they had probably built for themselves, or for the families that they would be leaving behind. And Lynwen was unsure as to how she was ever going to be able to live with the mental images of what she had just witnessed.

She knew war involved killing, but until this moment, she had never realised the brutal reality of battle. The merciless fatalities and violent executions were beyond anything that her sheltered life could have prepared her for, and for the first time in a long time, she wished that she was back home in Rivendell. Back to a time before Mirkwood when her life had been simple and safe, and her father, Elrond, doted on her every want and need.

She knew that she had lived a very privileged, and even a little spoilt, childhood that she wasn't all too proud to boast about, but right now, she would give her right arm if she could get all that back. Especially her ignorance. She desperately wanted to be ignorant as to how a human body still continues to convulse after it's been beheaded, or how it takes a good minute or so of agonising choking on your own blood when your throat has been cut before you're eventually allowed to die and be free of your desperate attempt at gargling and gasping for air. She just didn't want to know any of those facts! None of it!

Her panicked thoughts once again turned to Legolas. He was out there. Fighting amongst that carnage and utter chaos. Was he even still alive? Her heart quite literally broke at that awful thought, and she quickly pushed it to the back of her mind. She had to remain positive. With no way of being able to get out there and defend him with her own life, then she would quite possibly go crazy in here if she allowed her thoughts to turn negative. She had to believe he was still alive out there, she just had to.

She closed her eyes and tried hard to zone out from the utter carnage of the battle going outside, and instead, tried to hone in on her husband. This whole bond thing was still incredibly new to her and she wasn't even sure if this would work, but for the sake of her sanity, she had to try. And within only a few moments of silent concentration, she felt him. She felt his thundering heartbeat as his adrenaline soured through her own being, letting her know that he was still alive out there, and still going strong. She could sense his excitement, and even elation, as she continued to reach out and feel him, and couldn't help but wonder as to how he could find any part of this horrific battle, pleasurable.

She remained slumped on the floor for a long while, keeping her eyes closed as she continued to hold onto his emotions. Feeling him in this way was the next best thing to actually having him with her in person, and she was going to cling on to this connection for as long as possible. For the entire battle if her concentration would allow it. Feeling his emotions within her own body and in turn, knowing that he was still alive out there, was the only thing that was keeping her sane, and she tightly wrapped her arms around herself as she allowed the emotional presence of her husband to comfort her just a little.

But a noise so loud that it almost burst her eardrums, erupted throughout the keep, causing her to instinctively throw herself to the ground with her hands protectively covering her head. And she quickly realised, throwing herself into a protective foetal position was a good move on her part because along with the booming noise came debris. At first she wasn't sure why she was being showered with small bits of stone, glass and dirt, and just continued to shield herself from the unknown source for the following number of moments. But after she had stopped being pelted and the incredible noise had disappeared, an eerie silence seemed to engulf the keep, muting the entire battle into a seemingly confused state.

The unnerving silence caused her to slowly lift her head from the ground, instantly seeing that the glass that she had been hit with had come from the small window in the room, along with some of the stone that had once framed it. At seeing this, she quickly sprung up from the floor with a brand new hope, before jumping up to, once again, pull at the metal bars, only to unfortunately find that the bars were still firmly in place, seemingly going down into the walls a good foot or so.

Still clinging on to the bars with her feet dangling in the air, she peered outside just as the noise of the battle began to pick up again. It was clear that everyone out there had been just as startled as she had been after that loud noise, hence the dead silence. But men were now jumping up from their crouched positions on the ground in sheer panic as they realised at the exact same time that Lynwen had, that the great wall surrounding the keep had been destroyed. And Lynwen watched in horror as she witnessed an ocean of uruk hai pouring in through the crumbled remains of the huge stone wall, making the small number that had previously managed to climb over, seem like nothing more than a few measly pests.

She dropped to the stone floor of the small room before running over to the thick wooden door, beating and kicking at it with all of her might. Those men needed help more than anything now and she'd be damned if she was going to remain locked up in here while her husband and brother were now being faced with that deadly tsunami outside.

It was clear that the loud noise was responsible for the wall being breached, obviously some sort of sorcery that had blown the keep to pieces, and Lynwen was hoping that the earth-shattering tremor that had accompanied it may have loosened the hinges, or the lock, or something!

But luck was not on her side.

She screamed in frustration as the door still wouldn't give way, allowing the angered tears to run down her face as she was forced to listen to ten times for men and boys horribly losing their lives outside now, the lack of glass in the small window only helping to amplify their pained screams.

She dropped to her knees in a heap, cradling her head in her hands as she finally admitted defeat. There was absolutely no way out of this horrid room.

She slowly lifted her head from her hands and looked up to the small window, wincing every time she heard another life being taken so gruesomely. They were right outside now; innocent people being slaughtered and mutilated just a number of feet from where she was being forced to listen to their agonising cries, but unable to help them in any way. She had never felt so utterly helpless in her whole entire life, and knew that she was going to have a hard time forgiving Aragorn for putting her in this horrible and completely useless limbo of a situation.

She brought up her hands to cover her ears just as another gargled cry invaded her senses, tightly closing her eyes when she saw their blood spraying up to her window, coating the pale grey stone in a deep red.

xxx

The battle had been won. But at a huge cost. Aragorn could only stand completely motionless and stare at the hundreds upon hundreds of dead, their bodies torn to pieces and haphazardly dumped and strewn across what remained of the keep. In all of his eighty-eight years of life, he had never witnessed death on this scale.

He looked up to the sky where the sun was still rising, signalling the beginnings of another day. It was always such a strange sensation watching the sun and moon continue to take it in turns as if nothing had just happened, both of them clearly uncaring as to the night of terror that he and these people had just had to endure.

He sighed deeply as he dropped his head, wishing more than anything that King Théoden hadn't instructed his people to seek refuge here in the first place. He knew it would be a disaster, but the king had refused to listen to him. And now look. Hundreds of men and boys were dead, fighting to defend a keep that had ended up being breached, anyway. He just felt some relief that the enemy hadn't been able to break into the caves where the women and children had been hiding.

His thoughts quickly cut to Lynwen. Oh Valar, he was not looking forward to letting her out of that room. He'd been on the receiving end of her wrath in the past, and even though she had only been three years old at the time, it was an experience that he didn't want to repeat. He knew that her short temper had grown with her throughout her life, and could only imagine the reaction he was going to receive when he let her out.

xxx

The rustling of keys forced Lynwen to slowly look up from her sitting position, and directly at the locked door. She had been sitting atop the wooden chest for the past number of hours. Waiting.

She had just endured, without a doubt, the most agonising night of her life. Even in the calm and quiet that now blanketed everything outside the window, all she could hear was the screams in her head. The screams of all those people who had been mutilated and unsympathetically executed just feet from where she had sat slumped on the ground, cradling herself in her own arms. Their cries were ringing in her ears just as loudly as they had been during the night, but she immediately sat upright, forcing herself to ignore the cries for mercy still roaming around in her head, and instead, focused her attention on the noise of the door finally being unlocked.

She continued to remain seated over at the far wall even after the door had tentatively been pushed open and a sheepish-looking Aragorn had walked in. He remained standing in the doorway looking at Lynwen, with her staring right back at him.

After a number of uncomfortable silent moments, he decided to speak. "Lynwen, I did it for your protection." He implored. "I needed to keep you safe."

Lynwen only continued to stare at him, her harsh gaze burning a hole right through him.

Aragorn sighed deeply at her silence. "Lynwen, please." He practically begged, his eyes pleading for her to understand.

She slowly stood up from the wooden chest, her murderous glare never leaving him. Her chest was heaving slightly, displaying the anger that was currently souring through her veins, before she began walking towards him.

Aragorn could only look at her, apprehension making his body become rigid. And when she stopped directly in front of him, he decided to try and reason with her again. "Lynwen..."

But his words were cut short by the fast and unexpected left-hook that Lynwen firmly planted right across his jaw, forcing him to stumble back a few steps. He immediately looked up at her from his stooped posture as he cradled his jaw with the palm of his hand, but chose to remain silent.

"I'll never forgive you for this." Lynwen seethed as she lowered her face to his, holding his gaze for a few moments before storming out of the room.

Aragorn righted himself as he stood up straight again, opening and closing his mouth a few times and testing the functionality of his jaw. He couldn't help but to quietly laugh to himself. He knew that his sister would get over her fury towards him eventually, all she needed was time to cool down. But even though his jaw ached like hell, he knew that he still wouldn't think twice about doing that again. He'd protect his loved-ones at all costs, even if it meant he was going to have to endure Lynwen's ill-temper for a good while longer. Lynwen really was a force to be reckoned with when she wanted to be. But he also knew that he wouldn't have her any other way.

xxx

Lynwen was practically running throughout the corridors of the keep in her attempt to track down Legolas. She had managed to make a weak connection to his emotions earlier this morning after the battle had ended, and knew that even though he was feeling distraught, he was at least still alive.

But connecting to his soul in this way just wasn't enough. She needed to see him. To feel him. To have him hold her in his strong arms and tell her that everything would be alright, because she desperately needed that reassurance right now.

In her haste, she turned a corner without a second thought that there might have been someone coming in the opposite direction, so consequently, she slammed into the broad, hard chest of a man who was also rounding the same corner, forcing them both grind to an abrupt halt.

"I'm so sorry!" They both instinctively said in unison.

It took Lynwen a second to look up into the face of the man whom she had nearly knocked over in her mad rush, but to her utter dismay, she could see that he was already staring at her, his face displaying an expression of recognition and shock.

"Lynwen?" He asked in disbelief.

Lynwen gulped as she desperately tried to steady her rattled nerves. "Hello, Éomer." She finally said in response.

His expression quickly changed to one of anger and resentment as his eyes narrowed at her. "Why are you here?" He seethed.

Lynwen nervously looked down to the floor. She had been dreading this moment ever since Aragorn had confirmed that Éomer was here, but had been hoping that she may have been lucky enough to have avoided him.

But obviously not.

He took a threatening step towards her, his tall, broad frame towering over her small one as his hateful stare continued to bore into her. "You're not welcome here." He gritted out as if the words were sour tasting on his tongue.

Lynwen looked back up to him, her eyes showing only regret at what she had done to him all those years ago. At what she was still doing to him, so it seemed.

"Éomer, I'll be on my way just as soon as I find..."

"You are not worthy of speaking my name!" He interrupted a little louder, looking her up and down as if she was something so beneath him, that it disgusted him immensely. He took another sinister step towards her so that their bodies were almost touching, bringing down his face to hers. "Leave now, before I do something I'll regret." He threatened, his voice low and promising.

"Is everything alright, Lynwen?"

Lynwen instantly let out a small sigh of relief at hearing Legolas' beautiful voice. Even though she had known deep within herself that he had survived the battle, she still needed to see him in order for her worries to be soothed. Her husband was right by her side, apparently materialising from nowhere, but finally back where he belonged.

But the way in which he was staring at Éomer had her stomach flipping over with concern. His murderous glare was just daring the King of Rohan's nephew to say something else to his wife, and it simply petrified Lynwen. She had noticed just how possessive Legolas had become over her ever since their bond was formed, and seeing first-hand on a few occasions in the past at how violent Legolas could become towards an enemy, she worried now that his new-found dominant behaviour may extend his fighting skills to not only orcs...

"Yes, everything is fine." Lynwen lied, hoping to diffuse the heated tension that was rapidly brewing between the two guys. And feeling Legolas' anger getting to an alarming level, she knew that she needed to end this confrontation, pronto.

"Um, Legolas, I need your help with something. Could you accompany me outside please?" She said in a calm and level voice.

Even though Legolas was talking to Lynwen, he continued to stare at Éomer. "Yes, you go on outside, and I'll catch you up in a few minutes."

Lynwen's heart plummeted in panic. No! That's not what he was supposed to say! "Well, I'm afraid I may get lost or something." She lied as she frantically tried to convince Legolas to walk away from this.

But Éomer saved the day as he politely, but forcibly bowed his head. "No need to stay here on my behalf, Legolas." He said a little curtly before looking back up and landing his hateful stare on to Lynwen. "She is quite simply not worth the time... or trouble." He said the last two words after looking back to Legolas. "Now if you'll excuse me..." Éomer then turned and walked away from them, allowing Lynwen to let out a huge sigh of relief that that horrible confrontation was over.

"How do you know him?"

She looked to Legolas seeing that his narrowed eyes were still firmly fixated on the retreating back of Éomer as panic began to course through her. Crap, how was she going to explain this one? Even though she had told Legolas years ago that she had once been engaged to be married, she had hoped that she would never have to reveal the identity of the man she had been promised to. Not only because she wanted to leave that disastrous time in her life firmly buried in the past, but because she wanted to remain as respectful to Éomer as much as possible. It was her own weird way of trying to compensate for the awful way in which she had disrespected him and his trust. He simply hadn't deserved it, and it was something that Lynwen knew she would always feel guilty about. And until yesterday, she had thought keeping her ex-fiancée's identity a secret from her husband would have been quite an easy task, because why would Legolas even really know who Éomer was, let alone meet him!?

She knew she should just tell him the truth, but honestly, it had looked like Legolas was ready to pound Éomer's face in just a few moments ago, so would confessing that she had once intended on marrying the Rohan king's nephew, help to alleviate Legolas' anger? No, it certainly would not. She knew how much of a hard time Legolas was having knowing that she used to be romantically involved with Elrohir, so having yet another ex of hers within their midst was not going to help matters.

"I was thinking the same thing about you." She quickly threw back at him in a light tone. "It looked like you two don't really like each other much."

"We don't, he's a dick." Legolas answered matter-of-factly, taking Lynwen a little by surprise by his brute honesty. He turned his head and looked down at her, his eyes still narrowed but now aimed only at her. He continued looking into her dark-blue depths, his expression stern and the look in his eyes almost accusing as he continued to search inside her very soul for whatever answers he was seeking.

And it was something that caused Lynwen to uncomfortably shift on her feet, feeling his harsh gaze sear right through her, burning a hole deep within.

But as she frantically tried to think of something to say to the question that he was obviously still waiting to be answered, his eyes suddenly softened, taking on a look of apprehension and concern.

"Lynwen, I'm sorry for my behaviour last night. I just don't know what came over me." He said in a desperate tone as his eyes continued to search hers. "What I did was wrong, and I know that I don't deserve your forgiveness, but," He took a cautious step towards her, gently taking a hold of her hand in his. "I hope that you can find it within yourself to forgive me."

She had never seen him look so desperate in all of the years that she had known him, and her heart literally ached for him.

"Legolas you have nothing to apologise for." She said with certainty, holding his hand in return. "I'm your," She quickly glanced around them making sure there was no-one within earshot. "I'm your wife." She said in an affectionate whisper as she looked back at him.

But Legolas' brows drew together before looking down to their conjoined hands. "That still doesn't give me the right to do what I did last night. What I did was monstrous and I simply hate myself for it."

Lynwen reached up her free hand and tenderly placed it upon the side of his face, causing him to look back up at her. She couldn't contain the smile that spread across her face as she looked at him. Her heart almost felt like bursting with the amount of love she felt for this guy, and it was going to take a lot more than that little hiccup from the night before to deter her away from him. "Legolas, what you did was have wild, unrelenting sex with your wife!" She said with humour in her voice. "And it was hot!" She said with a playful raise of her eyebrows.

Legolas couldn't help but to laugh at her words, his face turning a little red with embarrassment. "Really? That's how you saw it?" He asked tentatively.

Lynwen firmly nodded her head. "Yes." She said without hesitation. "Not once did I protest, and I know that if I had, you wouldn't have hesitated in stopping."

Legolas slowly nodded his head as he digested Lynwen's words. "You know that I would never do anything to hurt you, right?" He asked, his eyes once again looking directly into hers.

Lynwen smiled, lovingly stroking her fingertips on his cheek. "I know." She said with complete and utter confidence, believing his words more than anything.

"I love you so damn much." He croaked, his voice sounding fragile.

"And I love you too."

xxx

"Wow, you look beautiful!"

Lynwen shifted uncomfortably at Legolas' compliment. "Um, thanks."

Legolas flopped down onto her bed, laying himself out onto his side as he propped himself up with his elbow. "Really!" He said for emphasis. "And I think that this is only the second time that I've seen you wearing a dress in all of the years that I've known you."

Lynwen turned to face him. "Well don't get used to it." She said with a forced smirk, hoping that she was able to hide the fact that she was truly suffering, inside.

Ever since the battle at Helm's Deep three nights previous, she had struggled to cope. Every time she closed her eyes she was bombarded with all those horrible images of men and young boys being slain in the most horrific way. And sleep was just an impossibility. Laying there at night when all was quiet, and the room that she had been assigned after their unplanned travel to Edoras in Rohan was pitch black, was when the sounds would come. Sounds of the battle that would forever be engraved into her memory. Sounds of the poor boys screaming for their mothers before their lives were so cruelly ended. Or sounds of their ear-piercing screams as their bodies were mutilated.

She momentarily closed her eyes while slowly gulping down her emotions, hoping to diffuse her disturbed and tormented thoughts enough to be able to get her through tonight.

As she opened her eyes, she saw that Legolas was staring at her, his face straight and expressionless. Even with this bond and the ability to sometimes be able to share in some of his emotions, it was still completely impossible to know what he was thinking.

"Are you OK?" He eventually asked her.

Lynwen immediately plastered the smile onto her face that she had been practising for the last three days. "Yes, of course!"

But Legolas only continued to stare at her, penetrating her with his ice-blue eyes.

"Well, it sounds like the party is well under way down there." Lynwen said, breaking the uncomfortable gaze of her husband by looking over to the closed bedroom door. "We should probably get going if we don't want to miss it." She spoke with a forced enthusiasm, because the last thing she wanted right now was to celebrate Rohan's victory for winning the battle at Helm's Deep. How could she celebrate a victory when so many innocent lives had been lost? It just didn't seem right. But it was something that King Théoden had requested Legolas', Aragorn's, and Gimli's attendance to as guests of honour.

She knew that she could've just given the party a miss and instead just stayed here in her assigned bedroom within Meduseld; the great Golden Hall where the king and his family resigned, but she was desperately not only trying to keep up a phony façade to herself, but also to Legolas and her brother too. She was too proud to admit that they had been right all along and that she should have stayed in Rivendell; away from war, death and danger, and so, she had to continue pretending that all was alright. That she was completely unaffected by all that she had been forced to bear witness to in the last number of months.

But she really was unsure for how much longer she could go on ignoring all the horrors that she had endured without eventually breaking down.

Legolas got up off her bed and walked over to her, stopping only when their bodies were flushed tightly together. He gently grabbed her jaw in his large calloused hand before forcing her to look at him. "I can feel your turmoil." He whispered, his eyes still boring right into hers, searching.

Lynwen could only look back at him, feeling the broken emotions that she had been so desperately trying to conceal, fighting their way back to the surface. "I'm fine." She lied, before attempting to pull away from him.

But Legolas' grip on her face tightened as his spare hand wrapped around her wrist, forcing her to remain in place. "Even when we've been making love, you've been distant. Like you're somewhere else." He continued with a firm and level voice. "Will you not just tell me what's wrong?" He brought his face down and affectionately rubbed his nose against hers. "Let me in, Lynwen." He whispered.

Lynwen knew that it was only a matter of seconds before her eyes would weakly begin to well-up with tears as Legolas continued to force her to face up to this issue of hers. But she didn't want to face up to it, because the reality of war was far too painful to deal with. Instead, she just wanted to hide away from all the pain and death and pretend that none of it had ever happened.

She closed her eyes tightly, hiding her traitorous tears from him, "Please, don't make me. Just let me go, Legolas." She begged in a whisper.

She felt his breath softly brush against her lips as he let out a deep sigh shortly before she felt his grip on her loosen, begrudgingly freeing her to move away from him.

She took a moment to re-gather herself before opening her eyes, finding that Legolas had a taken a couple of steps back, but was still studying her intently.

"C'mon let's get this night over with." She said flippantly, hoping to dissuade this conversation of theirs for good. She walked over and opened the door, turning to see if Legolas was following her.

"Are you coming?" She asked in a light tone, that well-practised smile firmly plastered across her face again.

It was another moment before Legolas finally broke his penetrative gaze and slowly nodded his head, walking out of the bedroom with her before closing the door behind them.

"Yes, let's go." He said in defeat.

xxx

It hadn't taken long for the party within the great hall to get pretty wild. Most were completely smashed and only stopped their drinking-binge once they were passed out on the floor. Many of the unconscious were carried out of the hall by the other men, but some still remained, sporadically littering the ground.

And it would have actually been quite comical had Lynwen still not felt like she was betraying the recently-deceased by attending this party.

She had managed to stomach a few hours of this 'celebration', which was more than she had intended to, and was now planning to make her quiet escape back to her assigned room. Especially since Éomer's murderous glares towards her were becoming more and more frequent as the evening wore on. He was getting drunker and drunker, and she wanted to make a swift exit before he decided to begin round three of their nine year conflict; round one being all those years ago after he had discovered her and Elrohir going at it like rabbits in the stables within Rivendell.

And Legolas was missing too, probably having gone outside for some air knowing him, which was good for her because it meant she could escape without having to endure even more questions from him.

"Are you having fun?"

Crap! Aragorn had magically appeared beside her and was choosing now to try and engage in conversation with her, which only halted her escape attempt. Not only did she not want to get into a conversation with anyone right now, she most of all didn't want to be stuck with Aragorn. She was still seriously pissed at him for what he had done to her a few days ago, and hadn't spoken one word to him since she had punched him in the face.

And even after a few glasses of wine, she still didn't feel relaxed enough to just forgive and forget. No, she still couldn't bring herself to even talk to him.

"Look, Lynwen," Aragorn said with a slight slur of his words. Great, he was completely tanked too. She inwardly rolled her eyes as she continued to look anywhere but at him.

"I did it for you." He implored, exhaling a number of frustrated-sounding breaths as he clearly struggled to get his mouth to speak the words that he was trying to say.

Lynwen looked at him then, seeing that his eyes were completely unfocussed and well and truly swimming. Drowning, even! Yeah, he was utterly plastered, and Lynwen held up a hand to stop him from even attempting to speak any further. "Please Estel, just stop talking." She said firmly.

Aragorn's head swung around to face her, his face momentarily looking a little surprised to find her standing there. "No, I need you to understand, Lynwen..."

"Ladies and Gentlemen!"

Aragorn's drunken drivel was cut short by Éomer's loud announcement to the entire hall. And panic spread through Lynwen at an alarming speed when she saw that he was stood on the small stage area, forcing everyone within the hall to look at him and for silence to fall across the entire party. He had already declared his congratulations to the crowd on their victory earlier on in the evening, even saluting the dead, so what the hell was he doing up there now?!

But her heart skipped a beat in dire worry when she saw that he was now staring only at her.

"We have some visitors from other lands here this evening." Éomer continued to address the huge hoard of people before him. "A few of them you would have come across, but there's one that I think needs a special mention."

Lynwen's heart was now completely out of control, it's erratic beating, pumping through her ears.

"And I say this," He continued. "Because it's not often that a woman of this calibre comes into our midst. Especially one with this amount of, _experience_..."

Lynwen could only wait with bated breath, not knowing where the hell he was going with this.

"And trust me, this woman will have no problems in sharing her experience with all of you men." He said as he forced out a laugh. "I've witnessed it first-hand!" He added with a chuckle, but with an unmistakeable amount of acid to his tone.

He cleared his throat as he looked back towards Lynwen. "So with no further ado," He spoke loudly, gaining the attention of every single person within the room before holding up his arm and pointing it in Lynwen's direction. "I give you Lynwen Elrondian," He announced, his voice turning to a hateful sneer. "The harlot, of Rivendell."

Every head in the room turned to look in her direction, the silence almost becoming deafening. She could feel the deep-red colour rising up her neck and quickly covering her face as she continued to stare blankly at the hundreds of faces staring right back at her.

She quickly placed her hand onto Aragorn's arm after sensing he was about to do something, silently begging him not to make this situation even worse than it already was.

Éomer, still staring at her along with everyone else in the room, suddenly furrowed his brows as if highly confused by something. "What's the matter, Lynwen? You're awfully quiet." He said mockingly, but his voice still held so much venom as his eyes continued to stare at her with nothing but hatred and detest. "That's very strange." He said with a shrug of his shoulders. "You weren't so quiet when you were being fucked by your very own _brother_."

The shocked gasps that erupted around the hall finally ended the horrible silence, but Lynwen wasn't so sure now which had been worse.

But before she had time to even contemplate her next move, something flew across the hall at such a speed, causing a momentary high-pitched whistling before slamming into the wooden wall behind where Éomer was stood, taking his arm with it, and forcing him to drop his glass of beer; the noise of the glass smashing to smithereens, attracting the hall into stunned silence again.

And it took only a moment for her to realise that Éomer's arm was pinned to the wall by a dagger through his sleeve. Legolas' dagger.

She, and everyone else, turned their heads to the opposite side of the room to find Legolas standing near the back wall, his hands balled into fists, his chest rapidly rising up and down, while his eyes bored into Éomer with an utter ruthlessness that Lynwen hadn't seen much of since their early Mirkwood days together.

"Oh, It seems that you have gone and found yourself a different elf to play with, Lynwen." Éomer flippantly announced to the entire hall, seemingly oblivious to the fact that his sleeve was nailed to the wall, and had been done so by the murdering elf who was just waiting to land his final blow. And yet, Éomer just couldn't resist one more degrading remark. "Or maybe you're doing them both..."

"Legolas, please!" Lynwen quickly shouted across the hall, just stopping her husband from releasing the arrow that he had notched into his bow at a lightening speed. Legolas' fingers were twitching as his chest continued to rise up and down, clearly struggling to contain his fury, and the arrow within his bow.

And Éomer's sudden burst of laughter certainly wasn't helping Legolas to reign in his anger. "So what are you going to do, Legolas? Skewer me right here in front of all these people?" He erupted into another fit of laughter. "Well go ahead! But know that you'll hang for it."

"ENOUGH!" King Théoden's deep voice vibrated throughout the hall, demanding attention. He appeared on the stage beside his nephew, his stature tall and threatening. "I think you've had one too many, Éomer." His voice was quiet, but firm. "Retire for the night. Now."

Lynwen had finally reached Legolas' side after she had pushed her way through the crowd during Éomer's final verbal attack. "Legolas, I beg you." She whispered, placing her hand onto the vertical arrow that was still begging to be released from its bow, gently forcing it downwards. "Please, just let it go. He's right, you could hang for this."

Legolas' eyes darted to hers, his expression still holding so much fury, but also so much hurt. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Lynwen could only stare back at him, knowing full well that he was referring to Éomer being her ex-fiancée. And what made it all worse was the hurt that was displayed in his eyes as he continued to look at her. This secret that she had kept from him meant that poor Legolas had been shunned and pushed aside by her, once again; something that she had made a habit of doing for the past eight and a half years. And it filled her with a huge amount of guilt.

Théoden proceeded to address the entire hall. "Ladies and Gentleman, Lord Legolas is a guest of honour here tonight, along with his comrades, Lord Aragorn, and Lord Gimli, so please allow me to apologise on behalf of my nephew..."

But the king's speech became nothing more than a muffled noise that faded into the background as Legolas and Lynwen continued to look at each other; Legolas displaying his pain, and Lynwen showing her regret at hurting him, yet again.

And in only a matter of seconds, Legolas turned from her and swiftly exited the hall, leaving her and a still very stunned crowd in his wake.

Lynwen nervously glanced around her and at all the staring faces, feeling herself burn up with extreme embarrassment. Tonight really couldn't have gotten any worse, and Éomer had gotten his revenge by convincing the people of Rohan that she was nothing but a filthy whore who had no problems in sharing her 'experience' with her family members! Ugh! This was bad!

She looked over to the other side of the hall to see a drunken Aragorn lousily shoving his finger into Éomer's chest, apparently threatening him, along with Gimli shoving his way through the crowd before standing at Aragorn's side, his short and stout stature showing his loyalty to his comrade.

But all that really mattered to her in that moment, was Legolas. She needed to go after him and try to fix things between them. He had every right to be angry with her for keeping hers and Éomer's relationship a secret from him, and she knew that she had a lot of work on her hands to get him to trust in her again.

She bolted from the hall without a backward glance, and ran down the corridor, just seeing the ends of Legolas' long white-blond hair disappear around the corner. She picked up her pace and saw him exiting the building just as she rounded that same corner.

"Legolas!"

But he didn't acknowledge her, and continued to storm from the building, allowing the large door to slam behind him.

Lynwen kicked off her heels before taking off at a sprint, being reminded of a time not so long ago when she had been chasing after Elrohir in this exact same manner.

She reached the thick wooden door before heaving it open, staring blankly into the darkness of the night. The only light out here was the very faint glow from the stars and from the half-moon, making her visual scan for Legolas extremely difficult.

But then she saw him. A quick flash of his long hair caught her eye as she could just make him out, entering the stables.

She carefully but quickly made her way down the stone steps from the upper-levels of Meduseld, before running across the stone walkway that led to the king's stables. She pushed her way inside and halted in the doorway, once again, scanning for her husband as she looked along the long stretch of stalls before her.

And it only a took a second for him to exit one of the stalls, a large, heavy saddle in hand.

"Where are you going?" Lynwen asked in an anxious tone.

But Legolas still wouldn't even look at her, and continued to prepare his horse, Arod, for whatever journey he was apparently embarking on. "I need to get away." He simply replied. "I need to think things through."

Panic erupted within Lynwen, causing her to close the distance between them. "What do you mean? What do you need to think about?!"

But Legolas just continued preparing his horse, clearly choosing to ignore her.

Lynwen grabbed a hold of his elbow, forcing him to stop in what he was doing. "Legolas, let's just talk about this." She pleaded.

The stable was only lit by a burning torch above the entrance, which reflected off of Legolas' beautiful eyes as he continued to stare ahead, and not at her. Lynwen looked on at the mixture of anger and hurt still brewing within those ice-blue depths, with the fire from the torch only emphasising those emotions as it flickered across the surface of his glass-like eyes.

The silence between them was growing heavy until eventually Legolas turned his head and looked down at her. But his gaze had turned cold, his eyes boring right into hers with an intensity that made her breath hitch and her heart-rate to quicken.

"So is Éomer, yet, another guy who managed to dip his dick into you before me?"

Lynwen' breath halted at Legolas' vulgarity. "How can you say such a thing?" She whispered in shock.

But Legolas turned his entire body to face her, his tall, lithe frame looming over hers as his hateful eyes continued to burn into her. "How many more were there?" He asked through clenched teeth.

Lynwen's eyes widened in disbelief. "There weren't any others!" She responded, her anger at his disgusting accusations making her voice raise. "Only Elrohir. You know this!"

Suddenly, Legolas' aggressive and domineering behaviour was beginning to piss her off. How dare he stand there and accuse her of such things! She had always been completely honest with him in this respect, and she didn't appreciate having her name dragged through the mud twice in one night. And whatever happened in her life before, was simply none of his business, anyway!

She squared her shoulders and stood up straighter, staring back at him with an equal amount of anger. "And even if I had worked my way through every guy in Rivendell and Mirkwood, what business is it of yours?!" She shouted.

But she was taken completely by surprise by Legolas' hand grabbing a hold of her jaw and ramming her body into the wall behind her, inciting a pained shout as her back made contact with the wood.

"YOU ARE MY WIFE!" He screamed in her face, his eyes alight with fury and his teeth bared in rage. He paused for a few moments, his shoulders heaving up and down as he struggled to get his breathing under control, allowing Lynwen to do the same. "So it has everything to do with me." He finished off with a sneer, his face just millimetres from hers.

His grip on her jaw tightened before loosening again, displaying his internal battle with this constant need to be in sole control of his new wife. It was beginning to scare him as to how insanely possessive he was becoming of her, feeling an alarming amount of jealousy every time another guy went near her. And the thoughts of her being sexually involved with another, even if it was before they had gotten together, made him go crazy with an unbridled mania that made him want to kill those who had dared to touch her in that way.

And as if suddenly snapping out of his rage-fuelled daze, he dropped his hand from Lynwen's face before taking a step back. He continued to look at her for a number of silent and tense seconds, with her looking straight back at him, before he turned from her and left the stables, leaving her standing there cradling her jaw in the palm of her hand.

She stared at the closed door that he had just exited from, feeling a mixture of apprehension and anger at what had just transpired. He had changed since this bond had formed between them, becoming a lot more intense about her, and their relationship. But she had also noticed other changes in him when she had first seen him at Helm's Deep a few days ago, clearly sensing his torment and dread by what he had experienced on the quest so far. And the thought of him experiencing such dire uncertainty and horror, only made her want to reach out to him.

But he could wait, she thought to herself. After his behaviour just now, she really didn't want to see or speak to him, and was most definitely not going to seek him out. No, she was going to wait for him to make the first move to repair this damage between them, and suspected, judging by the regretful and pleading look in his eyes before he left the stables, that it wouldn't be long before he came crawling back, begging her for forgiveness.

And it only took around five minutes before she heard the heavy metal latch on the stable door being pulled upwards and the wooden door to slowly creak open, allowing the cool night breeze to caress the bare skin of her neck.

But she was still too angry to acknowledge him, and firmly kept her back to him as she sensed his hesitant approach from behind. And even when he had come to a complete stop, with his close proximity causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand up, she still refused to turn around and face him, wanting him to, instead, plead for her forgiveness with everything that he had.

"Hello, Little One."

Lynwen's eyes widened at the familiar, but most unwelcome voice that spoke in her ear. She spun around to find herself face to face with the very last person that she wanted to see right now, feeling a whole new level of apprehension and anxiety.

For whatever reason, and without any warning, Elrohir was here and standing only inches from her, causing her to take a deep breath in her attempt to steady her nerves as she silently wondered if this night could get any worse.


End file.
